Maikai Thieves
by MoonDream6
Summary: This is bad! Koenma slammed his fists down. The Reikai Vault's been broken into again!... Enter Ari and Chetara, two thieves who failed at their attempt to evade the Reikai Tantei. Read their crazy story and laugh. KuramaxChetara HieixAri Finished
1. Chapter 1 Meeting the OC's

A/N: Chetara is not mine. Ari is all mine.

--

"This is absolutely horrible!" Koenma yelled. "This is unheard of! The Reikai vault has been broken into!"

"Excuse me, Lord Koenma?" George, his faithful servant, said meekly. He was a small timid blue creature, of 4'11''. "Haven't Hiei and Kurama done that once before? Before they became reformed?"

"Yes, but we figured it out before they got away. These perps managed to get in there, steal whatever they wanted, and get out without anyone noticing they ever entered." Koenma said, slamming his fist on the table. "This is really bad!"

"What did they steal, sir?" George asked, with a confused look on his face.

"The cloak of darkness, the Book, an amulet of fire, the sword of darkness, whip of fire..." Koenma started, slowly picking up speed.

George gasped loudly. "Sir...!"

"I know, George. We need to figure out who stole those things and have the team get the objects back. Quickly! I'll contact them at once."

"Lord Koenma..." George said, wincing nervously. Crossing Lord Koenma led to painful disciplinary action.

"Yes..." Koenma glanced at him, narrowing his eyes.

"They have the Book...?" George asked, with a wince.

Koenma nodded weakly. "If the team doesn't get those objects back very soon, the worlds could be in very serious danger."

--

Meanwhile, in human world...

"Hey. Wake up." Chetara whined at her friend, who was in a dead sleep.

"No. I'm trying to sleep." Ari hissed at her. As a neko, she hated being woken up. The cat in her. In Maikai and Reikai, half animal people were very common. There were nekoes, ookamis, merpeople, kitsunes...just about every animal you could think of.

"Wake. Up. Now." Chetara said, snarling at the the neko.

"No. I'm not scared of you. At all!" Ari said, bravely. Honestly, at times she was terrified of her wolf friend. Her friend was an ookami and vicious when she wanted to be.

"Not even when I'm equipped with the artifacts we stole?"

Ari shot up, wide awake. "Ooh! I haven't seen those things in the light yet. I want to see them. Bring them out."

"No. I don't follow orders. Especially orders from you, princess." Chetara said, rolling her eyes.

"Please bring them out." Ari said, pleading with Chetara.

"Fine." Chetara went and got the artifacts, just to shut her friend up.

"Ooh." Ari said, enthralled by the objects. "Hey, Chetara?"

"Yes?" Chetara asked, looking at the amulet.

"Why did we grab this book thing?" Ari asked, holding it up to the light.

Chetara shrugged. "You grabbed it. Not me."

"Right. I don't remember that. Oh well. The darkness artifacts are mine right?" Ari grinned happily.

"Yes. The fire things are mine." Chetara seperated their stuff.

Ari put the cloak she'd stolen on. Instantly, she felt an enormous surge of power slam her in the stomach.

"Woah!" Ari said, with a wince. "I think my power just doubled."

"Really?" Chetara asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes. Wow. This is incredible." Ari said, with a wicked grin.

"Oof." Chetara said as she felt the tremendous surge of power wash over her as she put on the amulet. "That actually hurt."

"It does hurt, at first." Ari said, with a laugh. "Then..."

"Now, it feels good. This huge amount of power." Chetara said, using her energy to ignite her hand.

"Yeah. I want to start reading this book." Ari said, laying it in her lap.

"You can't." Chetara said, wearily, with a sigh. "We have to go, remember?"

"Right. I'm taking the book. And my new sword." Ari hid the sword from people's sight, under her cloak.

"I'm taking my whip." Chetara said, tucking it away.

"This book feels funny. Kind of...cool. Like cold. Yet hot. Warmth is radiating from it. And so's cold. And...feels...dark. Yet, at the same time, there's a feeling of light. Feels earthy, and light as air." Ari frowned, closing her eyes and feeling out the book's energy.

"What are you talking about?" Chetara asked Ari, sounding exasperated. "I touched the book and it didn't feel like that at all. It just felt like a regular book."

Ari shivered. This book felt so weird. "I'm going to wrap it in something. Like cloth." Ari grabbed some cloth and wrapped the book in it.

"Alrighty!" Ari grinned. "Let's go."

"You're acting weirder than usual. Are you feeling alright?"

Ari nodded, with a grin.

--

"Let me get this straight. Some villains or whatever, broke into the vault, and stole a bunch of stuff without being discovered?" Yusuke asked, heavy on the sarcasm.

"Yes, Yusuke." Koenma nodded, with a sigh.

"And you want us to find these people you know absolutely nothing about." Kuwabara repeated.

"Yes." Koenma nodded.

"Hn...That's impossible." Hiei shook his head.

"I believe what Hiei means is, do you know anything about these people? If you don't, then it would be impossible." Kurama said, trying to keep an arguement between Koenma and Hiei from happening.

Koenma shook his head. "Nothing. We do have one person who claims to have seen the perps escaping but..."

"Let me guess. He met his untimely end a little early right?" Yusuke said, arrogantly.

"Actually, no. He is still alive. But he refuses to tell us anything." Koenma said, his mouth drawing a tight line.

"We can handle that." Yusuke said, crossing his arms. "One thing, though. If he seen the guys breaking out, why didn't they kill him? Maybe these guys aren't as bad as you think."

"I don't know, Yusuke! If I knew the answers to your questions, would I be here asking you to find them?" Koenma shouted, with fire and grit. "No, I wouldn't. Now, get up here now! Portal's behind your house. NOW MOVE!"

--

"Ugh. Chetara, why are we doing this?" Ari whined pathetically.

"Would you rather starve?" Chetara asked. She stared at Ari, and raised her eyebrows.

"Hm. Always a possibility." Ari said, thoughtfully.

"Shut up. Now, come on. We have to go buy groceries." Chetara said, glaring at Ari.

Ari whined, pathetically...again. The neko in her made her lazy. Meanwhile, Chetara, being a wolf, wanted to go running and wanted to get out and do something.

"I hate having to associate with Ningens." Ari whined. She bent over to where her hands were almost touching the ground, looking like the picture of defeat.

"I do too. Now, get over it." Chetara said, starting to ignore her.

Ari sighed. Standing up, she asked, "Can I get some catnip, then?"

"NO! Do you remember what happened last time you had catnip?" Chetara snapped to attention.

"Um...no?" Ari asked, weakly.

"Let me refresh your memory, then. You destroyed an entire apartment complex, all but killed 12 dogs, and brutally injured that impressive tom you were dating." Chetara glared at Ari.

"It's not my fault. Really! I accidentally had too much. That apartment complex wasn't completely destroyed. They managed to repair it. Those dogs walked away without too many injuries, and that tom...well, I didn't like him in the first place." Ari said, making a face.

"What was his name again?" Chetara asked, a little too innocently.

"Joey." Ari said, immeadiately.

"Right. Joey." Chetara snickered. "It's been so long I'd forgotten his name. It's surprising you remembered. You couldn't even remember what happened last time you had catnip, but you remember the name of the last tom that tried to date you?"

Ari immeadiately caught her drift and chased her all the way to the supermarket.

"You're... lucky... I'm... out... of... breath... Che... tara." Ari panted, with a growl.

Chetara ignored her. "We're here."

"I'll wait by the door, and try to read this book." Ari said, sitting on a bench.

"Fine." Chetara said, going off to get groceries.

Ari picked up the book. It still felt funny. Warmth, and cold were radiating from it. Also, light and dark. The book felt earthy and light as air. It even smelled like earth. She got ready to open it. Suddenly, someone came in, freaking Ari out. Ari jumped and ran after Chetara. The book was freaking her out and causing her to be scared of Ningens.

--

"Ok. Now, go in there and get that information. NOW." Koenma said.

"Fine, fine. Keep your diapers on." Yusuke said. He, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei entered.

"Hey there, old man." Yusuke greeted him. The witness was in fact an old man. (_This guy looks too old to even see...) _Yusuke snickered.

Yusuke walked up to him and held out his hand. The next thing he knew the old man had him on the floor.

"Don't mess with me." The old man warned.

"Great. Should've brought Genkai along, too. You and the old hag would get along great." Yusuke said, with great scorn.

"Ha! Yusuke's getting schooled by an old man." Kuwabara laughed, punching his fist in the air.

"Tell us, old man! What did the guys breaking out of the Ryrenea vault look like? And why didn't they kill you?" Yusuke demanded. The old man chuckled. "What are you laughing at?" Yusuke bellowed.

"Yusuke. He won't tell you anything with you screaming at him." Hiei said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Let Kurama try."

"Sir. Please. We need to know what the demons who broke into the Reikai Vault looked like." Kurama pleaded. "The worlds are in danger."

The man chuckled again. "I can tell you one thing. Your friend's wrong."

"Pardon me, sir?" Kurama asked, politely.

"Your rude friend is wrong. There were no guys." The old man grinned.

"Look here, old man! There were people who broke into the Reikai Vault and we need to know...!"

"Yusuke? I don't think that's what he means." Kurama spoke up.

"What?" Yusuke stopped.

"What do you mean, Kurama?" Kuwabara asked, confused.

"I think I get it, Kurama." Hiei said, with a nod.

"There were no guys." Kurama said, with a shrug.

"But there were! There were...!" Yusuke carried his arguement.

"You idiot! He didn't say there was no one! He said there were no guys. That means..." Hiei exploded.

"The perps were girls." Yusuke finished.

The old man laughed. "So you figured it out. Brilliant."


	2. Chapter 2 Found 'em and Catnip

"Are we going home now...?" Ari pleaded with Chetara despirately.

"Yes. We're finally done now." Chetara said, sighing at the neko. "Let's go home."

"Finally! Woo!" Ari celebrated, doing a weird dancing-type move..

They started walking home, carrying the groceries. Chetara had two bags, and Ari had one.

"I'm bored again." Ari whined, looking up at the clouds, and nearly tripping over her own feet.

"Play with your new toy that you had to have." Chetara sighed, speeding up, slightly.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that." She dug a squeaky mouse out of the bag and started to chew on it furiously. The passerby looked at her strangely.

"Squeak!" Said the plastic mouse. "Squeek, squeek!" She chewed on it most of the way home.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Not a bad description for an old man with quite possibly failing eyesight." Yusuke commented, thoughtfully.

"So one of them had green hair. You thought she had purple eyes, right?" Kurama smiled, asking the old man politely.

The old man nodded.

"And she was a neko with darkness powers...?" Kurama continued.

The old man nodded.

"The other one was a wolf demon with white hair with red streaks?" Also Kurama.

The old man nodded.

"Fire powers?"

The old man nodded.

"Hn. Odd." Commented Hiei. "Nekoes usually don't have darkness powers. Most of them don't even have element powers."

Kurama frowned. "I see what you mean."

"Let's go take our information back to Koenma. Hopefully he can make something out of this." Yusuke said, strolling out of the room.

They took their information to Koenma, who entered their information in a super computer. "I must warn you. It could take up to, if not more than, 24 hours for the computer to find even one of these girls." Koenma said, frowning at the boys. "And that's only IF they're on criminal record. If they're not... it could take days-"

DING. Said the computer.

"What?" Koenma blinked, looking at the screen. "It found them both in seconds...?" Koenma said, stunned.

"First girl found:

Ariana Miyuki

Race: Neko

Age: ...?

Element: Darkness." Koenma read. "There's a picture, too." The boys crowded around the screen until Koenma finally hooked it up to the T.V. There on T.V came a full color 3-D view of one of the perps. All of her info was there too.

"What did she get convicted for?" Yusuke asked, too lazy to read the screen.

"Let's see. It says, 'Sentenced to 300 years in jail because of the destruction of a human apartment complex, the almost massacre of 12 dogs and assault one of the greatest neko princes in Demon world.' "

"Three hundred years?" Yusuke blinked, rapidly.

"Yes. That's a short period for a demon." Koenma shrugged. "She had a good lawyer. Well, she broke out soon after, anyway. The other girl is,

Chetara Kioke

Race: Ookami

Age: ...?

Element: Fire." Koenma read. All of her information was there too. And a picture.

"What was she convicted of?" Yusuke asked, shifting stance.

"Um...Aiding and abetting a convicted criminal." Koenma read, frowning.

"What?" Yusuke crossed his arms.

"She helped break the neko out of jail." Koenma said, dumming it down for Yusuke. "We haven't seen those girls since. They're very clever and sly. They'd have to be to break into the Reikai Vault."

"Do we have any idea where they are?" Kurama asked, with his polite smile.

"No. Not a single clue. I just hope they're here in demon world." Koenma sighed.

"You mean you're not even sure what world they're in!" Yusuke yelled. "You little...!"

"Koenma, sir!" An ogre appeared, bowing slightly.

"Yes, ogre. Speak."

"It appears we've found the energy signals of the items, sir. And...you're not going to like this." Ogre said.

"SPEAK!"

"They're in Ningenkai, sir."

"Ningenkai?" Koenma yelled.

"Yes, sir. But, the strange thing is, these demons...sir?"

"GO! GO OUT THERE AND GET THOSE ITEMS BACK! FIND THESE GIRLS AND GET THE ITEMS!"

The Reikai Tantei ran off to human world on a wild goose chase looking for these girls. Finally, they had to rest... They'd been dashing for 8 hours. They all piled on the grass in the park, exausted. They didn't move. They heard people coming.

"Chetara, enough! I told you, that it was an accident." A female voice yelled.

"I know it was but it's fun to tease you about it. I'll never forget the last time you had catnip. You almost killed that poor tom."

"It's not my fault, Chetara! He gave me too much." The voice whined. The boys cracked open one eye each. They were exausted.

"Oh...Really, now? How would that situation come up, Ari?"

"Uh...oops."

"Why would a male give you catnip?" Chetara asked, smirking slightly.

"Because we were dating..." Ari said. She was starting to dislike the turn of this conversation.

"Ohh. I think I know what it was for now."

"Shut up!" The boys saw a girl chasing and attacking another girl. It turned out into an all out war. They were rolling on the ground, fighting. And, just as quickly as they started, they stopped. One of the girls walked over and picked up a cloth covered object on the ground. She wiped some of the dirt off and looked at it. She sighed and walked towards her friend. She picked up her rubber squeeky mouse to chew on.

The Reikai Tantei jumped up, or tried to. Basically, they fought gravity and stood up. They walked over to her. "Excuse me, are you Ari? And are you Chetara?" Kurama managed.

"Yes." The girl with the cloth object and the rubber mouse said. "I'm Ari."

"I'm Chetara." The other girl frowned. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"We've been sent by Koenma to get the items you stole back." Yusuke said, tiredly.

"How irritating. You found us already?" Ari sighed.

"Obviously, or we wouldn't be here." Hiei snapped.

"We've only had the objects one day." Ari whined. "Can you believe that?"

"We went to all that work and we've only had them a day." Chetara sighed. She tried to take the object off. It wouldn't come off. The thing had melded to her skin, and wouldn't come off. "It won't come off. Ari, try to take your thing off."

Ari tugged on the cloak. "Hm." She set the cloth thing on the ground. She tugged up on the cloak that was stuck. "Uh..." Ari started tugging on it furiously. RIP! "OUCH!" She screamed. They all looked at her funny. "I think that was my skin." Ari said. "And it's stuck too."


	3. Chapter 3 The book and Ari's anger

"We've brought the people who broke into the vault. But..." Yusuke said.

"Finally! I was wondering what you were doing!" Koenma exploded. They brought them in.

"Why are they wearing them? Take them off!"

"We would, gladly, but they won't come off." Chetara said.

"They're stuck to our skin." Ari said.

"Oh, no." Koenma moaned. "I was worried about this. Wait!" He sat up. "Those things are unimportant. We need that book."

"Uh...Book?" Ari asked.

Chetara watched her in amazement. There was no way Ari could have forgotten already...could she?

"Yes, the book. The BOOK YOU STOLE FROM THE VAULT!" Koenma yelled.

"We didn't steal a book!" Ari yelled.

"Ari...?"

"Yes?"

"Don't you remember that night at all?" Chetara asked.

"I remember it exactly and we didn't steal any book."

"Yes you did. Don't tell me you don't remember."

"I guess I don't, because when I woke up this morning you brought out the artifacts and there was that book that I don't remember either of us taking." Ari said, Unwrapping the object. "I didn't steal this. Why would I want a worthless book?" She waved it in the air.

The group, or the knowing half, gasped.

Ari ran her hand over it. It still felt weird, like, she didn't know.

"You took it. Last night. We were leaving and I said Come on!" Chetara said. "You said, 'Wait a minute!' When you came back you had the book. When I asked you about it you mumbled something about destiny."

Ari wasn't listening. This book...seemed familiar. Like she'd seen it or felt it a very long time ago. _The writing on the cover...It says on the front, The demon Bible. I can read it. _She flipped it over. _The writing on the back... _

_Honor me now, Honor me if thou wills,_

_I will be thy teacher of all thy skills,_

_If thou wish it thou will see,_

_Cures, curses, all thy skills will be,_

_unmatchable and eternally strong,_

_as long as thou possess me, thou will never be in the wrong._

"Ari...?" Chetara called. Ari barely heard her.

"Y-yes?" Ari asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Ari said. "Hey, infant. What's that say, right there?" She pointed to the back.

"No one is able to read it that we know of." Koenma said. "The only one who can can't read it very well." He said. "We know it teaches demon skills. That's why we need it back. We don't know..."

"Unmatchable and eternally strong skills."

"What?" The group asked.

"It said, Unmatchable and eternally strong skills."

"You can read it...?" Koenma asked. Ari nodded.

"Absolutely." Ari said. "Sort of. I can understand it."

"Read the back." Chetara said.

Ari began reading calmly.

"Never be in the wrong?" Yusuke asked. "What's that mean?"

"I think it means never be evil. You won't take the wrong path." Kurama said.

"I could've used that book along time ago." Hiei grumbled.

"Then I wouldn't be here."

"Well, now we definitely need the book. Give it here."

"You're going to take MY book...?" Ari said. "I'm the only one who can read it." The book heated up and almost burnt her. But she was so mad she didn't notice.

"YES. WE NEED THAT..." The shadows began to jump around the room. Everyone started to freak out.

"You're not taking it. " Ari cautioned. A strong wind began to blow indoors.

"It's mine!" Ice crystals began to form on the walls at Ari's comment.

"Try and take it from me, infant!" Ari yelled.

"Ari!" Chetara yelled, hoping to calm Ari down. All of a sudden, everything calmed down. Ari's head hung limply. She was tired. So very tired.

"Yes, Chetara?" She sounded weak. Everyone just watched. Ari slumped to the floor. "Chetara...What happened? Where's all my energy...?"

"Um..." Chetara thought briefly. "You passed out, and there was a fight."

"Oh." Before she slipped into unconscienceness.

"Why did you lie to your friend?" Hiei blurted.

"Because, she's my best friend and it would be best if she didn't know." Chetara walked over to Ari. She couldn't get her to let go of that book. She had it clutched in one hand in a death grip.

"She won't let go." Chetara said. "Looks like we're going to have to keep these three items." She took Ari's sword off and her whip off and threw them at Koenma. Chetara tried to drag Ari towards the door.

"Wait!"


	4. Chapter 4 Aphrodisiacs and catnip

"Wait!" Everyone looked at Koenma. "If she's going to have the book, we're going to have to keep an eye on you two."

Chetara raised an eyebrow.

"We're?"

"The Reikai Tantei."

"Ok...But, we're going home." Chetara said. "You guys going to follow us or what?"

"You are NOT going to ningenkai with that book." Koenma yelled. "You will stay here."

"Wanna bet?" Chetara said.

The boys cracked up.

"It would be best for your friend if you didn't drag her across 20 miles of forest." Kurama supplied.

Chetara considered it.

"You can stay, or go to jail."

"Staying it is." Chetara put Ari down.

"I'll have my people prepare rooms for you and your friend in the guys mansion." Koenma ran off.

"Hey, what's the story behind your friend's first conviction?" Yusuke asked. "The computer wasn't being very discriptive."

"Oh." Chetara grinned. "Really funny story there. Ari was dating this tom by the name of Joey. Appearently, he gave her a bag of catnip and she overdosed on it. She bounced around and destroyed an entire ningen apartment complex, nearly killed 12 dogs, and severely injured the tom that gave her the catnip."

"How did she destroy the entire apartment complex?" Yusuke asked.

"I think I heard about that!" Kuwabaka said.

"Really?" Yusuke asked.

"Yeah, 6 months ago, wasn't it?" Kuwabaka asked.

Chetara nodded. "I haven't let her have catnip since. Because she doesn't know when to stop."

"How much is too much?" Hiei asked.

"For a normal cat, a serving is about the size of a nickle." Kurama said. "For a neko, a serving is a half a kilo."

Chetara nodded. "Right."

"English, genious." Yusuke said.

"About 2/3 of a cup."

"Oh, ok. How much did she use?"

"Um...I asked her but she wouldn't tell me. At first. After enough prodding it turns out she had three pounds of catnip."

A huge group silence.

"What was he trying to do? Kill her?" Hiei asked.

"No. I think he didn't know she was going to use the whole bag."

"What was he trying to do with it?" Hiei prodded. Chetara got uncomfortable.

"Uh."

"Catnip, if used the right way, is sort of an aphrodisiac for nekos." Kurama supplied,

"It's a what?"

"Um..." They both were uncomfortable now.

Hiei turned to the two idiots.

"What is it?"

"We don't know either, Hiei."

"Let's ask the infant when he gets back, since they won't tell us."

They nodded. Kurama and Chetara turned red in the face. They were blushing like crazy. They didn't want to be the one to explain that.

"Ask Ari when she wakes up." Chetara said. "She'll know."

"It could be days." Hiei said.

"Ari'll know. Ask her." Chetara said.

"The kitsune knows. Why won't he tell me?" Hiei prodded.

"Because."

"Uh...It's more of a Youko thing." Kurama blushed. "Youko would know far more about it than I would. And he's staying where he is."

"Ok. We got your rooms all ready." Koenma said.

"What's an aphrodisiac?" Hiei asked.

Koenma did a facevault. Kurama and Chetara choked.

"Uh...What?"

"I said, what's an aphrodisiac?" Hiei asked calmly.

"Uh...How did this question come up? "Koenma asked.

"Kurama and that girl were talking about them and they wouldn't explain what they are." Kurama and Chetara turned bright red because out of context that sounded really bad.

Ari stirs, and sits up.

"What happened?" Ari groaned.

"Explain to this guy what an aphrodisiac is." Chetara said.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Fine. The meaning is an object that increases or is used to increase sexual desire, or something that excites." Ari yawned.

"Your friend has some true guts." Kurama commented, while turning red. "She has too many guts if you ask me." Chetara commented, also red. Ari's ears flicked back a little. "I heard that, Chetara." "...hn." Were Hiei's exact words to her explaination. "I don't get embarrassed easily." Ari said. "We can tell." Chetara said. "Your rooms are #655 and 656." Ari pulled herself up. Chetara stood up too. "How did this topic come up anyway?" Ari asked.

"Your friend mentioned it." Kuwabara said.

"Chetara did?" Ari blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah. She was telling us about the last time you had catnip." Yusuke grinned.


	5. Chapter 5 Shadow skills, mice and feline

Ari chased Chetara all the way to their rooms where Chetara locked herself in 655. Ari slunk into 656. The room was pretty, as far as a room could be designed by a colorblind decorator.

Ari layed down on the bed. She realized she still held the book. She set it down. Then picked it back up. She opened it to the first page. There was a shadow skill she had never seen before displayed on the first page. She turned the page...nothing. The rest of the book was empty. There was one page that had writing on it in the whole book.

She took a nap. Then Ari went outside for a walk. Halfway through she wanted to try that new move. She opened the book and started practicing. The book was very thorough and did an excellent job of explaining things. She soon mastered the skill the book called Seidan. She looked at the book. The wind turned the page and...there was another page filled out.

"Oh." Ari said.

Later, the book stopped adding more pages. After three moves, Seidan, Reiani, and Jankai, the book ended for today.

"Only three moves a day?" Ari said. The book was silent.

"Of course. Always a catch." She picked it up and went back to the castle.

When she got back, Chetara and everyone was waiting for her.

"Where were you?" Chetara said.

"I went for a walk, is that a crime?" Ari asked.

"Theft is." Koenma said.

"Shh! They're listening." Ari said.

"What?"

"Wee!" Ari bounced around the room. She was in a much better mood after her walk.

"Are...you ok?" Hiei asked.

The boys looked at him funny.

"Ari's back to normal!" Chetara celebrated. "This is how she usually acts."

"I'm hungry. What time is it? Ooh! Are there any mice around here?"

"Uh..." Koenma stuttered.

Ari morphed into a cat and streaked through the room. She got ready to pounce on something. She slowly stalked the thing that was moving. She pounced on it. Unfortunately, it was Hiei's cloak.

"Hey! Get off!" Hiei yelled.

Ari let go and streaked through the room. She got ready to pounce again. She pounced on Chetara's tail.

"Ari...!" Chetara said, threatningly.

Ari stopped and looked at her. She rolled over.THUMP! And gave her the cutest eyes she could make.

"Mrow." Ari said. She jumped up and ran around some more. Then she stopped and layed down again. Right next to Hiei. He moved a little. She eyed the moving fabric. He froze. She rolled over with a thump. She sounded like a sack of potatoes.

"Mrow."

Suddenly, she jumped up and pounced on this thing with a fury. It was a mouse. She pounded it into the ground. She started to chew on it. Alive.

"SQUEEK!" Said the mouse. She ate the mouse without a second thought. She left the tail and a little pile of mouse parts. She started washing her face. When she was done, she pounced on her book. And layed on it.

The boys watched this in horror. That mouse was eaten alive...almost. Hiei moved again. Ari watched the swishing fabric again. Hiei was the most fun. She pounced on him again.

"Stop it, Ari!" Hiei growled. She did the same thing with Chetara. THUMP! She rolled over, gave him those really big eyes, and said...

"Mrow."

"When she's like that the only word she can understand is her name and when you say her name, she has to be cute." Chetara explained.

Hiei picked her up by the scruff of her neck. She hung there limply. She continued to give him those big and cute eyes. She was giving him the innocent act. He sort of hugged her to his cloak for a minute before putting her down. It looked like he held her just like anyone would hold a normal cat. He wondered if being unable to hurt her would count as a weakness.

She looked at him and trotted away. She layed down on her book. He heard Chetara laugh and say,"Sorry about your cloak."

"What?" He looked down. His cloak was covered in cat hair. He started trying to wipe the cat hair off. He was furious. He chased that cat around the room a couple times before giving up. She layed on her book again. Everyone watched. Hiei grabbed her again. He held her at arm's length by the scruff of her neck. She hung there limply. She continued to give him those big and cute eyes. She was giving him the innocent act again. He wasn't falling for it now.

"Mrow." The cat said, and whimpered. Botan came in.

"Hiei! What are you doing to that poor cat? Put it down!" Botan said.

"...Hn. Fine. Worthless feline." He dropped her and walked off. THUMP!

The cat jumped up and followed Hiei. "Meow." She sat.

"Also, when she's like that, she sort of changes personalities. She loses her caution, sort of forgets everything, and doesn't understand english. And in that form, her secrets there are none. Which means, in her demon form she has a crush on you, but won't show it. Here she shows it without remorse because in that form she loses herself." Chetara said.

"Wait what?" Botan said, lost.

"Yeah, we didn't catch that either."

Chetara pointed to the cat, who was meowing at Hiei. "She has a crush on him." She pointed to Hiei.

"Oh! How cute, Hiei!" Botan said, cheerful as ever. "That cat has a crush on you."

Hiei growled at Botan. The cat looked at him.

"Meow?" She tilted her head. Hiei ignored her. The cat slunk back to her book. The cat drug the book to the next room. A few minutes later, Ari came back with the book.

She grinned. "Hey Guys! What's up?"

"Are you serious?" Yusuke blurted.

Ari tilted her head a little. "Yes!"

"Hello! I'm Botan! Nice to meet you."

"Ari." Her ears flattened down. Botan walked towards her. Ari growled. Her ears flattened completely.

"Grr." Ari said.

Botan backed away. "What's wrong?"

"You smell weird." Ari said. Chetara sniffed the air.

"Hm." Chetara said. "I don't smell anything. And I'm a wolf."

Ari shrugged. "Like...some sort of animal. Like..." Her eyes looked at the book. "I don't know. Never mind." She was cheerful again.

"Sorry I was so rude!" Ari squealed.

"Does your friend have multiple personalities?" Kurama asked.

"No. It just seems that way. Mood swings." Chetara said.

"Ah." They watched as she was more perky than Botan. Hiei thought, _someone needs to put her out of her misery. _

"What're your guy's names anyway? We never did the whole introduction thing." Ari said.

Everyone introduced themselves.

"Time to eat!" An ogre called.

"Yay! I'm soo hungry!" Ari said.

"Really?" Kuwabara asked.

"You just ate a mouse." Yusuke said.

Ari cocked her head. "Mice are small meals." She bounded into the dining room with her book.

"Ari can be very odd at times." Chetara said. "And impossible to understand."

"Ah." They all said.


	6. Chapter 6 Seidan, Reiani, Jankai

They walked into the dining room. Ari was studing the ceiling. She waved her arm at it. They all looked at the ceiling, and her shadow was on the ceiling. Theirs were under them.

"Seidan!" Ari called. The shadow shot across the ceiling, and slammed into the wall. It left a huge dent.

"Oof." Ari said. "Remind me never to use my own shadow. That hurt."

"Seidan?" Hiei asked.

Ari nodded.

"Oooh! I'll use the chair's shadow!" Ari said.

"What are you doing?" Koenma asked.

"I'm bored. Seidan!" The chair's shadow whipped across the room and slammed into the wall. Because of the shadow chair legs it shot all the way through the wall.

"Cool!" She said. "I like that."

"Ari?" Chetara asked. "Where did that move come from? You've never used that one before."

"The book." Ari said. "I know two other moves too!"

"What?" Chetara said. "Give me that!" She grabbed the book. Ari let it go. Chetara opened the book. There was nothing in it. Or on it.

"Reiani!" Ari said, and all the shadows in the room converged into a huge ball.

"Cool!" She yelled. It separated.

"Jankai!" She yelled. Hiei's shadow rose from the ground. He became a solid figure. He stood next to her and raised his weapon.

"Ooh!" Ari said. The black figure looked at her. He bowed low.

"I like him!" Ari said. The glare from Hiei was more than sufficient to let her know that he didn't like that comment.

"Ow." Ari winced.

"What?" Everyone asked.

"Nothing." Ari said. Telepathy hurt. The shadow was using telepathy and it hurt.

"Dismiss." Ari muttered. The shadow nodded and bowed. He slid to the floor and settled under Hiei.

"Ok! I'm hungry now!" Ari said. She ran to the table and sat down.

Everyone sat down at the table. Chetara sat next to Ari, Kurama sat next to Chetara.Hiei tried to sit next to Kurama but Yusuke got there first. Kuwabara sat next to Yusuke. So Hiei had to sit next to Ari. Rather her than Kuwabaka. After everyone finished eating, Ari decided to duck out.

"Well, I'm tired now!" Ari said. "I'm going to bed." She waved her hands at them.

"Night." Everyone said. Ari took off and went to her room.

* * *

Chetara came in there an hour later to see if she was sleeping. Ari was messing with the shadows.

"Jankai!" She said. Nothing happened. Suddenly, something came across the floor and rose up. Hiei's shadow, Chetara realized.

"Hello!" Ari said.

The figure bowed low. He sat down. Ari laughed.

"Uh...Are you Ok, Ari?" Chetara asked.

Ari jumped straight in the air.

"Agh!" Ari screamed. The shadow jumped up and poised his weapon.

Ari sighed hugely. "Don't do that, Chetara! You scared me." The shadow relaxed and sat down.

"I'm fine!" Ari said. The shadow nodded. As did Chetara.

"Wait! Were you talking to me or the shadow?" Chetara asked.

"Both."

"I hope this isn't coming off as rude but...What are you doing with Hiei's shadow?" Chetara asked.

Ari laughed. "You were never worried about being rude before."

"Just answer the question." Chetara said.

"Alright. I'm bored. And...worried that if something happens tonight I'm going to get hurt. We're still in enemy territory, and I was worried. Hiei's shadow pledged alligance to me earlier and..."

"His shadow did that?" Chetara asked.

Ari nodded. "He pledged alligance to me. He said his original owner comes first, but otherwise I am his master. He will do anything I wish or ask of him."

The shadow nodded. He sat down next to Ari. He watched the scene play out.

Chetara whispered, "He knows we're talking about him, right?"

"Yes. He's listening. He promised to watch over me tonight. Unless Hiei has a problem in which he has to go back." Ari said.


	7. Chapter 7 Kuro and now or never

"Ari? Open the door! I know you have my shadow!" Hiei yelled.

"What are you going to do with him?" Ari called.

"Nothing, but I want him back!" Hiei yelled.

Chetara got up and opened the door. "He's here, Hiei. He's being her bodyguard for the night."

"I'm sure." Hiei growled. Chetara decided to leave.

"Bye." She slipped out the door.

The shadow scooted closer to Ari, and farther away from his furious master.

"Why do you want him?" Hiei asked.

"He's strong. He's good protection for me since I'm in enemy's territory." Ari said.

"How do you know he's not an enemy?"

"Because he pledged alligance to me. He said his original master comes first but otherwise I am his master. He will do anything I wish or ask of him." The shadow nodded.

Hiei glared at the shadow darkly. "Traitor." The shadow looked depressed.

"It's ok." Ari said. The shadow perked up. "Don't be mean to him, Hiei! I like him."

"So he's staying the night here?" Hiei asked.

Ari nodded.

"How long can I be separated from that thing?" Hiei asked.

"I don't know." Ari said. "I just learned the move."

"I might have to spend the night in here since traitor over there won't leave." Hiei said, unhappily. He growled. The shadow stretched out. It looked like the shadow yawned. "Ooo! I want to call you Kuro!" Ari said.

"You're naming my shadow?" Hiei asked.

"Yes..." Ari said. "Your name is Kuro now. Ok?"

The shadow nodded in approval. He looked at her meaningfully.

"..." Hiei looked at Kuro carefully. _MY shadow has a crush on the neko! There is NO WAY that's going to happen._"I think you can go sleep in your own room, Hiei. Kuro will go back soon later tonight. He'll come visit."

"MY shadow will come visit me?" Hiei asked.

"Yes. Until tomorrow, he's MY shadow." Ari teased.

Hiei growled, unhappily. Kuro just seemed taken with the neko. _Why does MY shadow have such affection for the worthless cat? _

Hiei left and stormed off to his room. He ran into Kurama in the hallway. Literally.

"Hello, Hiei." Kurama said. He looked down.

"Hey, Kurama." Hiei sounded depressed.

"She has your shadow again?" Kurama asked.

"Yes, and appearently the traitor has a new master. He swore his alligance."

"Ouch." Kurama said.

"She named him." Hiei said.

"She named your shadow?" Kurama said, a little suprised.

"Yes. She named him Kuro." Hiei said.

"Ouch. Sounds...familiar." Kurama said.

"Hey, Hiei." Yusuke said. "Where's your shadow?"

"Ari's got him. Appearently the traitor has a new master.He swore his alligance."

Yusuke laughed.

"Your shadow...promised he would serve someone else?" He was laughing so hard.

"Yes. Ari named his shadow as well." Kurama said.

"Haha...What'd...she name...it?" He couldn't breathe.

"Kuro." Hiei said.

Yusuke was rolling around on the floor laughing.

"Hey, everyone." Chetara said, coming up. "What's wrong with Yusuke?"

"He can't stop laughing."

"You didn't get your shadow back?" Chetara laughed.

"She named it!" Yusuke gasped out.

"What?" Chetara asked.

"She NAMED my shadow." Hiei said. He sounded testy. He sounded like he wanted to kill someone.

"Oh..." Chetara tried not to laugh.

"What'd she name it again, Hiei?" Yusuke asked. "Tell me again."

"Kuro."

"Mmf." Chetara choked back a laugh. Yusuke continued to laugh.

Hiei stormed to his room where he could be away from all the laughing at him.

Chetara went to Ari's room. She knocked on the door.

"Uh...hold on a second!" Ari called.

"What is she doing in there?" Chetara murmured.

"Ok! Come in." Ari said. "It's not locked." Chetara walked in.

"You named it?" Chetara asked.

"Don't talk about Kuro like that." Ari said. "Yes, I did."

"Ah. Hiei's beyond furious at you."

"Oh, well. Not the first enemy that I've made." Ari sighed. "How are things with that redhead?"

"What?" Chetara asked.

"That redhead guy you have a crush on. Kurama's his name."

Chetara blushed. "There are no things to go on."

"Aw, I'm sorry there's nothing between you two. I'm sure there are, you just don't know about them yet."

Chetara growled. She walked out of the room. Ari grabbed the book again and started to read. _Let's see, it says here... A shadow can be successfully separated from the owner for a period of 2 hours before continuing to reside with it's master. While a shadow is separated from its master, the master gains additional strength in battle and..._

There was another knock at the door.

She put the book under the bed. "Yes?" Nothing. Silence. She opened the door, there was no one there. She sat back down and continued to read. _So, while I control Hiei's shadow, he gets stronger, and I get protected. But, I can only control Kuro for 2 hours._

A few hours later, she decided to go to sleep. Kuro was long gone, and she was tired. She stretched and yawned. As a cat, the time of sleep had come. As she was about to fall asleep there was another knock at the door. She ignored it. She could care less. Then she heard something she didn't like. Her door being opened. She didn't move. She heard the door shut and someone walk across the floor. She tried to feel out the person's energy but the energy she was sensing was unlike any of the people she had met today. She got ready. _Now...or never. He's not taking my book._ Ari thought. She sat up and looked at the guy. He jumped a little. She blinked twice. He stared at her. She couldn't believe it.


	8. Chapter 8 Youko Kurama

She knew who he was, sure. But, he was supposed to be dead. And, as a matter of fact, what was he doing here?

He smirked at her.

"Hello there." He said, his voice deep. He continued to smirk at her.

"Uh...Hello." Ari said. Ari refused to believe who this guy looked like. Or, possibly was.

The guy looked her over. She didn't like that. She could see him mentally undressing her.

"Who are you?" Ari asked. She had to say something.

"I'm the famous bandit, Youko Kurama." Youko smirked. That smirk was starting to irritate her.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" She asked. Youko's smirking stopped for a second. He glared at her. Then Youko, of course, smirked.

"Almost. I almost died. I escaped to the human world and survived."

"I see. What are you doing here?" She asked. She squirmed under Youko's gaze. His eyes held a look. He eyed her carefully.

"Would you like to find out?" Youko continued to give her that little smirk.

"Uh..." It hit her exactly what Youko wanted. "No. I wouldn't."

Youko laughed. "Well, that's too bad, isn't it?"

Ari panicked.She hissed at him while thinking over the moves she'd learned. Suddenly, she smiled.

"Seidan!" She pointed to the chair's shadow and to Youko. The chair's shadow flew at Youko, and pinned him to the wall.

"What is?" Ari asked. Youko squirmed against the shadow of the chair. Youko grabbed the shadow. He pushed on it hard enough to pull it out of the wall.

Youko laughed. "I'm nowhere near done with you. Go ahead, try another one of your little tricks. I will have you eventually, one way or the other."

"Jankai!" Ari called. She focused on Hiei's shadow. She willed Kuro to come in her time of need.

"Nothing happened. Looks like you're out of tricks..." Youko said. He walked towards her. He came within a foot when...suddenly, he was attacked by a flying shadow. It fought like a thing possessed. After a few minutes Youko had the upper hand, it looked like. Then he gained the upper hand and he drove Youko away. Ari saw him fighting for her.

"Thank you, Kuro." Ari sighed. "Thank you so much."

"Too bad. I'm not Kuro." The shadow said. Ari looked. It wasn't Kuro, but a figure shrouded in darkness.

"Hiei...?" Ari asked.

Hiei nodded. "I saw Kuro taking off like a thing possessed. I jumped on him, figuring the only thing that would get him to act like that is if something happened to you."

Ari smiled. "Thank you, Hiei." She sighed again and leaned back. _That was so close..._ She thought.

Hiei spoke. "Hn. It could have been worse."

"Huh?" Ari asked.

"It was close, but it could've been worse." Hiei said.

"I said, thank you." Ari said. She realized something. "You can read my thoughts...!"

Hiei nodded. "It's midnight, you'd better get some sleep." He left. Ari watched him go. Ari relaxed.

_Sure, Kuro can be nicer than Hiei, but Hiei's so much better. He's cuter, and just plain dreamy. _Ari thought. _Too bad HE couldn't stay awhile. Like Youko was planning to._ She fell asleep quickly.

Hiei listened to her thoughts with a vengence. _She did not just think that about me! No way. How dare she think that? _He was furious, and blushing at the same time.


	9. Chapter 9 Wake up, Ari!

Hey, I wanted to thank all my reviewers and everyone who's read this. When I first started this story, no one liked it or even read it. I had been considering taking it off the internet for quite some time, and now that people have started reviewing it I know that you guys like it. I also wanted to thank the people who have it on their favorites list. Kat-McB, MM-Sweet-Snow, rainshadow-7, sugga baby, and White Kitsune Youkai. Thank all of you for multiple reasons!

-

The next morning, Ari got waken up by Chetara again.

"Hey!" Chetara growled. "Wake up."

"I said, NO!" Ari yelled, in her sleep.

"What?" Chetara asked.

"You can forget about it. I didn't know who you were before, but I do now." Ari mumbled.

"What is she talking about?" Chetara asked.

Chetara decided to let her sleep awhile. She walked into the hallway.

"Your friend won't wake up?" Kurama asked.

Hiei walked out of his room.

"No. She won't wake up. She kept mumbling something about saying no. This is what she said, exactly. 'You can forget about it. I didn't know who you were before, but I do now.' " Chetara said.

"That's odd." Kurama said. "She must be dreaming."

Hiei listened. _Uh-oh. She's sleep talking._

"I'll wake her up." Hiei said.

"What?"

"I'll do it." Hiei grinned. "See how long it takes me." He walked in there and shut the door. They heard a scream. It was really loud. Ari came running out. "NOT FUNNY!" She yelled. She was practically in tears. Hiei chuckled.

"Actually it was."

"No it wasn't!" Ari yelled. "That was so mean!"

"What'd he do to you, Ari?" Chetara asked.

"Nothing." Ari sulked. Hiei chuckled again.

"Is breakfast ready? I'm starving." Ari sulked. She walked to the kitchen.

"What did you do to her, Hiei?" Kurama asked.

"I got her to wake up." Hiei said, and walked off.

--------------------------------------------

At the breakfast table Ari looked exausted. She fell asleep over her breakfast.

"I've never seen her sleep in the presence of food." Chetara said. "I think she's sick." Hiei continued to eat. Ari suddenly jumped. She screamed. Her eyes scanned the room looking, for something, anything.

"Darn it!" Ari yelled. She picked up her fork and started eating again. She gave Hiei a cross look, who almost choked.

"Are you feeling alright?" Kuwabaka asked.

"Mm-hm." Ari said. She sighed.

"You sure?" Yusuke asked. "You look tired."

"Mm-hm." Ari said. "Never been so tired."

"Why didn't you go to sleep last night?" Chetara asked. Ari choked on a forkful of food. She muttered something no one could understand and continued to eat. Soon though...

"zzz..." Ari fell asleep again. Her head layed on the table and there she slept. All through breakfast. The team made a circle around her after they were done.

"Are we going to wake her up? Or just carry her?" Yusuke asked. "She can't just sleep in here."

"Let's wake her up." Chetara said. "ARI! Wake up!"

"Why should I" Was her reply.

"Well, she's up." Yusuke said.

"No...She's not." Chetara said. "She's talking in her sleep."

They tried everything they could think of. Nothing woke her up. Short of a bucket of water.

"Hiei! You did a good job of waking her up this morning. Wake her up." Chetara said. Hiei shook his head.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because." Hiei said. "Leave and I'll wake her up."

"Why?" Chetara asked. "We're not going anywhere."

"...hn. Fine. Have fun carrying her then." Hiei said.

"We'll leave." Chetara said. She turned and left. Hiei stared at the team.

"Well? Leaving yet?" Hiei asked.

"You want us to leave too?" Yusuke asked.

"Yes. When she wakes up, she'll attack everything and everyone in sight. She will hurt you, I guarantee it."

The boys shuffled out of the room.

Hiei sighed. He hated waking her up like this. Scaring her half to death by making her think Youko was after her again. He tried to make his voice sound like Youko's. He sighed. Get ready.

In the main room they waited for Ari to walk in. They heard her scream as loud as she possibly could. They all looked at each other. She came storming through the door. She looked about ready to maim and kill the first person that stood in her way. She stormed off to her room. Hiei came through the door soon after. He looked really unhappy.

"Hiei!" Yusuke said. "What did you do to her?"

Hiei growled. "Look at what she did to me!" He showed them a HUGE bruise on his stomach. And a bruise on one of his arms.

"Next time, you wake her up." Hiei went to his room.

----------------------------------------------------


	10. Chapter 10 Ari's hair and Kuro

Ari fell asleep in her room. She slept in her room, undisturbed by anything for the next three hours.

Ari yawned. She looked at the clock. It read 11:00. Ari got up and out of bed. She walked into the living room, yawning. Everyone was busy doing something, but stopped when she walked in.

"Hey. What's up?" Ari yawned.

"Ari?" Chetara said.

"Yeah?"

"Is there a mirror around?" Chetara asked.

"Umm...Why?"

"Just because."

Ari put her hand to her head. Her hair felt normal. Ari turned and walked into the bathroom.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HAIR?" Ari yelled.

Everyone just laughed. Ari's hair and her eyes had switched places. Her hair was purple, and her eyes were green.

"I don't know." Chetara yelled. "You looked normal this morning."

Ari walked into the living room. She looked broken hearted. "My...poor hair!" Ari cried.

"Poor Ari." Chetara said. "How did that happen?"

"I don't know!" Ari cried. Her ears were still black. Ari turned and checked her tail.

"Tail's still black." She commented. She looked at the book in her hand. _I bet it's this stupid book. _Ari sighed. She looked so broken hearted that they couldn't laugh at her because she looked so sad. Hiei walked into the room.

"...!" Hiei politely said. He gave her the weirdest look.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want." Ari said. She had little to no emotion to her words.

"It's not worth laughing about." Hiei commented.

Ari raised one hand casually. All the shadows that belonged to people rose. She was bored. The shadows looked around them. Silent, but efficient. She realized she couldn't talk to them. She realized something. She could talk to Kuro and have Kuro talk to them. The shadows watched her. They turned to Hiei's shadow. He gestured. They all nodded. They bowed to Ari once. Except Yusuke's shadow. He just sort of stared at her. Kuro seemed to yell for a minute. Yusuke's shadow bowed maybe, a centimeter lower than his usual height.

Kuro gave Ari a weird look.

_(What happened?)_

"Don't laugh!" Ari cried. "I don't know. I just woke up like this."

Now EVERYONE gave her a weird look.

"What are they doing?" Chetara asked.

"Listening to Kuro. I have to have Kuro speak for them, as he's the only one I can hear. Kuro, do they have names?" Ari asked. Kuro gestured. He shook his head.

"You guys wanna name them?" Ari asked. Kuwabara's shadow tripped. "Looks like I won't use him often."

"Yeah! We'll name them." Yusuke said. "..." He thought a minute. Ari turned to Kuro. He looked bored.

Soon, everyone was tossing out ideas. Ari sighed, deeply bored. She waved her hand at Kuro. _Dismiss them. You stay._

Kuro nodded. He gestured at them. They all nodded. Kurama's shadow melted, Kuwabaka's shadow melted, Chetara's shadow melted, Yusuke's shadow melted. They all melted until only Kuro was left. Everyone watched him. He sat down.

"Uh...Is he going to go away?" Botan asked, scared.

"No." Ari said, flatly. "He's staying." Everyone was scared of Hiei's shadow because shadows are were supposed to be dark and evil. Ari grinned.

_(I think they're afraid of you, Kuro.) _The shadow jumped up and whipped around to face her.

_(Why are they afraid of me?) _

_(I don't know. I think they think you're supposed to be evil.) _

_(Why would they think that?) _

Ari shrugged. _(Shadows are highly associated with darkness, I guess.) _

_(So, the second people meet me they're going to think I'm evil and be scared?) _

(Yes, usually. That's going to be our battle asset.) Ari grinned viciously. _(You'll be my battle buddy, Kuro!)_ Kuro smiled.

_(I'll do my best to serve you.)_

"I'm going to go train some more..." Ari said. "I guess I'll see you, Kuro." Kuro bowed low at the waist.

_(Until the next time, Ari.) _

"Don't be so formal." Ari laughed. "See you." Kuro returned to Hiei. Ari got up and walked to the door and left.


	11. Chapter 11 Menai and the Jagan

Hey, ppl. I wanted to say thank you for reading my story, and that I love you and stuff. This is where it gets weird, but it'll blow over. I hope you people who like/love it don't stop reading it! Thx ppl!

"First move of the day...Menai." She muttered. She practiced forever, it seemed like.

"I need to try this on someone..." Ari said. "It says here this move copies the moves of someone of your choice. Can alter the appearence of the user."

Ari finally got back. She held the ability ball behind her back.

"Hey, Ari!" Everyone said. (Who do I use it on?)

Suddenly there was a tap on her shoulder. It freaked her out. She turned and flung her ball at them.

Hiei got sucked into a huge black ball. She reached out, grabbed the air, and pulled it off. It made a sucking noise as it was pulled off. It slammed into her, and slammed her into the wall as her body absorbed it.

Suddenly, her body was engulfed in a wave of pain. The worst pain she'd ever expirienced. It HURT. The pain dwelled there. Her arm hurt terribly, and her head felt like it was being ripped into pieces.

Ari screamed. She was facedown on the ground, screaming. No one could figure out what was wrong with her. It felt like her head was about to explode. Cold chills racked her body.

"Aah!" Ari screamed. "This...is...not right!" She clutched her head...hard. Hiei realized if she clutched it any harder she'd break something. He had a bad feeling he knew what was wrong with her. He warped over there and grabbed her hands and kept her from ripping her own head off. He held her down.

"Help me!" Hiei yelled. The entire team held her down. She still screamed. Eventually, the screaming slowed down and stopped. She layed there limply. They all let her go.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?" Chetara screamed.

"We don't know. What'd she do?" The team asked. No one knew. Hiei, however, knew.

"She passed the dangerous stage. The stage where she could cause danger to herself and others." Hiei said. "Now, is where it gets tough. She's going to get a fever and get really ill. We're going to have to step in if you want her to survive."

"What was wrong with her?" Chetara asked.

"The little move she used copied my skills and gave them to her. But, when she got my moves, she caused herself pain, because when I got them, I suffered." Hiei said. "Now, she attains the same skills as me." Hiei said. "Jagan eye, and the dragon of the darkness flame."

"I don't get why she hurt still." Chetara said.

"Do you think having your forehead ripped open and a third eye stuck in there would be painless?" Hiei asked. "How about having a huge fire shadow dragon implanted into your body?"

Chetara realized finally what was up. "She has a third eye now?"

Hiei nodded. "We'll keep an eye on her." The boys snickered.

"How many eyes does she need? She already has three now." Yusuke snickered.

Hiei felt her forehead, careful not to hit her new eye. He couldn't see where it was over her headband. He pulled the headband up. There was a little slit there. "See, she's already getting her eye in." He said.

Everyone crowded in for a closer look.

She's already getting a raging fever." Kayko pointed out. "We need to get her into a bed." Someone poked her new eye and she spasmed.

"Stop it, baka!" Hiei yelled.

"Sorry." Kuwabara said.


	12. Chapter 12 After disease and broadcast

Ok, ppl who read this. I want to thank you for reading it, and um...I don't know. Oh, the nine of you who have it on their favorites list, including you, Ash, THX! Um...I have this story written all the way to the 23rd chapter and I put up new ones whenever I feel like it, so, if you ppl make me feel good about my story, I'll keep it coming. :D What it is, yo! Oh, and the Aliens said to tell everyone this. _**The blue pineapples. They fly.**_ That is all.

"She needs to rest in a bed." Chetara said.

"There are some things you need to know to keep her alive at this point." Hiei said. "First, no solid foods, only soup. Second, nothing that doesn't have tomatoes in it.""Tomatoes? Soup?" Everyone looked confused.

"She's getting the after disease. She needs tomatoes. Tomato soup, tomato juice. Anything red. Mostly tomatoes." Hiei said. "Only soup, or she'll throw it back up."

"..." There was silence.

"We need to get her to her room." Hiei said. No one said anything.

"You're going to have to carry her." Hiei said. Silence. "MOVE IT" He growled. "Unless you WANT her to die." That got them moving. They picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Koenma sent a troup of people to take care of her. Hiei instructed them, and they followed his wishes. Her ENORMOUS fever broke at midnight. (Like 120) It started to decrease to a normal temp. She slept for two days straight. They had to hand feed her and keep her hydrated.

Finally, she woke from her sleep. She was still in alot of pain, but alive, nonetheless.

"You're awake?" Hiei asked. "You survived."

Ari groaned. "Wish I hadn't. It hurts."

"It'll hurt for awhile." Hiei said. "The pain will be almost unbearable. As for the wishing you hadn't survived, I can't say I'm surprised."

Ari nodded. "Nice to see you too." She muttered.

(He's being a JERK!") She thought. One problem with that. Her jagan put her thoughts on loudspeaker. So...Everyone heard her.

Hiei growled. "I see the thanks I get for saving your life."

"I told you. I wish I hadn't survived." Ari murmured.

Everyone came running in.

"Ari!" Chetara yelled. "You're alright!"

"I guess I am..." Ari said.

(This pain is unbearable.I seriously doubt I'm ok." She thought. (Thoughts on loudspeaker)

"Would you like some painkillers?" Chetara asked, puzzled.

"No, thanks."

(How many can I take?" She wondered. (Thoughts on loudspeaker)

"What?" Chetara asked.

"Baka." Hiei said. "You're broadcasting your thoughts to the whole castle."

"Oops!...Really?"

(No way."

"Way." Hiei said.

"Ooh. How do I stop that from happening?" She asked. She tried not to think.

"Close the link."

(Didn't know I made one."

"Concentrate Baka!" Hiei yelled.

Ari concentrated. She felt something close in her mind.

(Did I do it?) She wondered. No one yelled at her.

"I think I did it." She said.

"Good." Hiei said. Everyone sighed. They had been getting headaches from all the yelling.

"How come I don't have any shadow energy?" Ari asked. "None at all. Maybe a little trickle of shadow energy. That's it."

"The Jagan Eye." Hiei said. "Long story short, don't worry about it."

Ari lifted her hand. Hiei could see what she was attempting.

"I wouldn't."

"I want to."

"But don't."

"What's she trying to do?" Chetara asked.

"Summon Kuro." Ari said.

"Don't." A new voice said, behind them. "If you try to use your shadow energy now, when you don't have any left, it could cause you to ruin your arm."

"Hey, Genkai! How ya doin' ya old hag?" Yusuke said.

"Three years of training and still the little brat doesn't respect me one bit." Genkai said.

"What are you doing here, Genkai?" Koenma asked.

"I came to see everyone, and I heard this really loud yelling, coming from this way."

"Sorry. New powers. I can't control them...yet." Ari said. "Nice to meet ya! I'm Ari."

"Genkai."

Ari seemed to be studing the old woman. She observed the energy she was giving out, and just everything. She tilted her head, studing her carefully.

"Excuse me. What is it?" Genkai asked, gruffly. She didn't like to be studied.

"Sorry, ma'am." Ari said. "Didn't mean to stare."

"What is it?" The old woman repeated.

"Nothing. Just..." Ari trailed off. "When I meet new people I study them first to see if I think they're worth dealing with. Always."

"Hm." Genkai said.

"You seem to be quite strong and skilled." Ari said.

Genkai didn't say anything. Now, SHE was studing Ari carefully.

"You're a neko, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ari said, blushing a little.

(Uh oh...)

"You seem familiar." The old woman said. "Not you but..." Ari started to get nervous.

Ari lifted her arm.

"Did you say not to summon Kuro?" Ari asked.

"Yes. DO NOT summon him. You will lose an arm."

Ari's sleeve fell down revealing an odd tattoo. Not of a dragon but...

"What is that?" Kuwabara asked.

(Darn it! I was so close!) She grabbed her sleeve and pulled it up.

"Nothing. It was the tattoo I got from Hiei."

"I believe that one was on your other arm." Kurama commented.

She shot him a look that could freeze the sahara desert.

"Well..." Ari faded off. She looked at her left arm. By instinct her hand covered her arm.

"No. This is the tattoo I got from Hiei." She said. She looked trapped. "I've gotta go to the bathroom. Where is it? Never mind, I'll find it." She shot out of the room. When she came back they all looked at her. She grabbed her book. She tried to ignore them. Chetara looked confused because she'd seen glimpses of that tattoo before. Ari refused to tell anyone the story behind it.

"What is that?" Genkai asked.

"Demon bible." Ari said.

Genkai took it. She opened the book. There was nothing in it.

Ari took the book while it was still open. Suddenly words appeared on some of the pages.

"Can only demons use it?" Genkai asked.

"Only I can." Ari said. She passed it to Chetara, where the writing disappeared. She took it back.

"About that tattoo..." Genkai said.

(I wish she would shut up about that tattoo!" Ari thought. Her thoughts were on loudspeaker. Nowhere near as loud as the first time, though.

Genkai heard her. Tried to ignore it. "Let me see Hiei's tattoo then."

(No way. NO!"

Ari held out her right arm.

"I thought it was your other arm." Yusuke asked.

"Look. Leave me alone about the tattoo! I've spent years hiding it and it's going to stay that way." Ari said. She took her arm back. She held it in the air, and pulled the sleeve back a little. She looked a it for a second.

(I hate this thing! I HATE what it represents. I HATE the person who made me get it. I HATE where I was when I got it." Her thoughts yelled.

"That's alot of hating." Kuwabara commented.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing."

She stared at it. She covered it again.

"Let me see it, now." Genkai said.

"No." Ari said. "You'll recognize it." She turned away.

"LET ME SEE IT." Genkai grabbed Ari's arm and jerked the sleeve up. There was a coat of arms delicately tattooed on the inside of her arm. A beautiful and intricate coat of arms. Whoever made it was a professional, because it was some of the best tattoo work in either world.

(Dumb tattoo!"

"Wow..." Everyone gathered around to see the tattoo. It was...a neko coat of arms.

"You're from the royal family." Genkai said.

Ari frowned. She looked irritated. She growled and hissed.

"Don't hiss at me, girl!" Genkai said. "You're from the Neko royal family. The Neko Demon Lord's daughter." She shook her head.

"SHE'S THE WHAT?" Koenma gasped.


	13. Chapter 13 Secrets, Eikichi, and Kuro

Hello there! What it is, yo! The Blue Pineapples. They fly. Oh, right. I remember what I'm here for. I wanted to say thx to all of ya. MM-Sweet-Snow, Star, Youko's Kitsune Girl, everyone else. THX! But, ahem. I responded to ur all's reviews and updated. clears throat Well, maybe I lied. Ok, ya'll want to really know why I updated? I was bored. There. It's out. OMG! BTW, I have never been happier or more proud of myself. This story has made it on 10 ppls favorites lists. I love you all. You ppl are the greatest ppl ever. Lotsa Love, Ariana Miyuki

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"..." Ari growled. " Thanks for your help in figuring that out! I've only spent my ENTIRE life trying to avoid that fact."

"You're the what, Ari?" Chetara asked,

"Neko Demon Lord's daughter."

"Is that why you were dating that one tom?"

"You cannot let that go, can you?" Ari sighed. "Yes. He was a Neko prince, of some sort." She grinned maliciously. "I had loads of fun there. Torturing him and whatnot. He wouldn't let go. And when he gave me the catnip..."

"Woah...You're one good liar!" Chetara said. "I never knew the difference."

"I HAD to do something." Ari said. "I knew what he was going for."

"So...you're not at all like I thought you were..." Chetara murmured.

"Chetara!" Ari said. "You're still my best friend. I'm still the same baka kyogen neko."

"..." Chetara watched her a minute.

"No more secrets." Ari said. She tilted her head a little. "OK?"

"Ok." Chetara said.

"Yay!" Ari said. Then came, "I'm bored now. Let me go, onna!" Genkai let her go. Ari turned into a cat and streaked around the room. She had alot of energy for a person who just got a jagan implant. She skittered across the floor. She tried to turn but instead make contact with the wall. BAM! She chased invisible objects. Kuwabara got down. He wiggled his fingers.

"What are you doing?" Hiei asked.

"I've got a cat too." Kuwabara said. "I'm playing with her." Ari stalked his fingers. She pounced on them and played with them. She jumped up and ran away. He got a string and slid it across the floor. She chased it all around the room everywhere.

"Ari!" Hiei said. "Get over here." She looked at Hiei, then the string. She bounded over to Hiei and...THUMP! Rolled over on her back, meowing. Kuwabara's sister, Shiziru, came in at that moment.

"Hey, little brother. Brought your cat. No one would take her." Shiziru said. "Is that...Does Hiei have a cat?"

"Not mine." Hiei said.

"Eikichi!" Kuwabara hugged his cat. He put her down for a second. Ari jumped up. She slowly walked over to Eikichi. Eikichi walked over to her slowly. They sniffed each other. Everyone blinked. When they did Ari and Eikichi got into a catfight. Seriously. There was hair everywhere. Then, they were friends. Instantly. They ran around playing. After a while of attacking Hiei together, they both tired out. Ari sloped towards the bed. She jumped on it and turned back to demon form.

"Woah. Weren't you a cat a second ago?" Shiziru asked.

Kuwabara was livid. "Why did you attack my cat?"

"It's a cat thing. Matter of who's leader. Who's better. When we figure that out, then we can play. Guess my family burned one thing into me if nothing else." Ari said.

"Who won?" Chetara asked.

"I did. Didn't you see it?" Ari asked her.

"Not really. All I saw was flying hair."

"Your cat really loves you, you know." Ari said to Kuwabaka.

"I know. I love Eikichi too! She's my little girl."

Ari laughed. "Ah." She tilted her head. She stared into the air for a second.

"I have enough to last him a roundtrip visit here for...exactly two hours!"

"What?" Everyone asked.

She waved her hand and said, "Jenken." And, of course, everyone's favorite shadow came.

Kuro stood there for a second. Looking at her.

(What happened to you?"

(Long story. What's up?"

(Nothing. I followed Hiei for two days. What happened?"

(I made a mistake in judgement and now, I'm paying for it. Dearly." Ari thought.

"WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?" Genkai screeched.

"Kuro." Ari said. "Shh. He's talking to me."

(A mistake?"

"Yeah." Ari said.

(I accidentally tried to copy Hiei's special abilities. And keep them for myself to use."

Everyone was listening her talk to the voice in her head. Which, was Kuro's voice.

(Oh..." He was silent. (Wait! Like the jagan eye? And the Dragon of darkness flame? I have those!"

(Yes. So do I, now. I wish I hadn't done that. It was an accident. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I was afraid it was..." She looked around, everyone was listening intently. She closed the link.

(Youko Kurama)

"Wait! Open it up again!" Everyone yelled.

"Who were you afraid of?" Chetara asked.

"Tell YOU later. No one else."

(Ooo. You thought it was Youko and it was Hiei?)

Ari sighed. (Yes...)

Kuro doubled over. He was...laughing at her!

"Stop laughing at me! It's not funny, Kuro!" Ari said. "He scared me!"

Kuro just laughed. Eventually, he calmed down enough to look her in the eyes.

(Speaking of the kitsune, is that the last time you've seen him?)

Ari nodded. "Yes." She studied Kuro. "Thank goodness."

Kuro snickered. (Whether he's here or not, he still causes trouble for you.)

(You know, I think I'll put you back in Hiei's shadow for awhile.) Ari thought.

(Why?)

(Because.) Ari thought. (See you Kuro.) Kuro walked over to Hiei and became his shadow once again.

Ari pulled herself up and sat up. She looked around the room. She felt a growing sense of dread. Something was happening. Something was going to go down...now.

There was a loud crash as the door was kicked down.


	14. Chapter 14 Ash, Arika and the vision

She had known something was going to happen and had felt dread at first but now she knew this intruder was not to be feared.

"Hello." Ari said.

The intruder said nothing for a minute. Then came, "I can't believe you guys did all this, started and accomplished all this before I got here."

"Oops!" Ari laughed. "It's you, Ash!"

"Yeah, it's me? Who else could it be?" Ash said. "...What happened to you?"

"Uh..." Ari froze. "Alot of unbelievable things. I thought you knew what was going on here."

"I'll explain it all to you later, Ash." Chetara told her."Fine, fine." The kitsune sighed. "I'm always left out and the last person to know what's going on."

The other people were just sitting there in shock.

"Sorry, we didn't make it to the meeting." Ari said. "Some weird stuff went down."

"Yeah. When you didn't show up I got suspicious. I asked around demon world and got that the Reikai Tantei kidnapped you. But that's obviously not true." Ash said.

Chetara laughed. "You heard we were kidnapped?"

Ash nodded. "I was worried. I'd believe anything."

"We're sorry." Ari said.

Chetara blurted out, "Did you know Ari is actually a neko princess?"

"What? No way!" Ash said.

"Yeah. She didn't tell me."

"Or me." Ash said.

"Pardon me for being rude but..." Koenma started. "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Well, looks like I'm here to see Ari and Chetara. What's it look like to you?" Ash said.

"OOH!" Koenma was furious. "WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND YOUR RUDE FRIENDS?"

Ari sighed. "I like people who are blunt, to the point, honest. That's the kind of people I hang out with."

"Do you have any more friends we should know about?" Kurama asked.

"No except..." Ari said. "ARIKA! Is she here?" She wheeled on Ash.

Ash grinned.

"Nice of you guys to start the party off w/o me." Arika said.

"Hey, Arika!" Ari said.

"God, you look like beep!" Arika said. "What happened?"

That was a shock to the whole team. They just sat there gaping.

"Hello to you too. We'll explain later, ok?" Ari asked.

"They won't tell me anything. Did you know Ari is a neko princess?" Ash asked.

"No. Are you beepin me?" Arika asked. Everyone winced at Arika's comment.

"No. We're not. She really is." Chetara said. "She has a tattoo to prove it."

Arika ran over and grabbed Ari's arm.

"OW! OTHER ARM!" Ari cried. That arm was still sore from the dragon tattoo.

Arika dropped that hand and grabbed the other one. She jerked the sleeve up just like Genkai.

"Ow! What are there sleeve ripping classes in high school that I never took?" Ari cried.

"OOOH!" Arika said. "That's awesome! What's it supposed to mean?"

"It's the neko coat of arms." Ari said. "It's a symbol of the royal family."

Ash leaned over and took a look too.

"That's pretty cool, Ari."

"Not really." Ari said.

"What's on the other arm?" Arika asked. She grabbed the other arm and jerked the sleeve back. Only difference, this arm was MUCH more sensitive than the other one.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" Ari screamed.

"What the beep's wrong with you?" Arika asked.

Ari jerked her arm away from Arika.

"Let me do it!" Ari said. She carefully rolled the sleeve back. There was, of course, a black dragon tattoo on this arm.

"Oooo..." Arika said. "I want one."

"No you don't..." Ari murmured.

"Awesome!" Ash said. At that moment Ari's eye started acting up.

"OOH." Ari said. She covered her forehead w/ her hand.

"Makes it worse..." Hiei commented. He was right.

"How do I fix it?" Ari asked.

"Concentrate on it. It might be trying to tell you something." Hiei said. Ari closed her eyes and concentrated on it. Soon, her mind created a picture for her to study. It was...odd at best. It turned into a movie. It was a fight scene. She, Ash, Arika, Chetara, Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara were fighting a demon. The demon looked cute at first. The more she looked the more monster-like he became. They fought the demon with all their might. They were getting demolished. When it ended she knew what it meant. They needed to start training soon. If they got alot stronger faster they wouldn't get killed by that demon. She opened her eyes.

"ohhh..." Was all she could say. Everyone watched her.

(I don't have enough strength to start training now...) Ari thought. She smirked. (Says who?) She slid her feet out of bed and stood up. A little shaky but that was ok and to be expected.

"We need to get stronger. Alot stronger. Fast." Ari said. Now, everyone just stared at her like she'd grown a second head.

Ari looked at them. She shrugged. She grabbed her book.

"I'll be back."

"Ari!" Ash said. "Count me in! Even if the Reikai Tantei don't want to."

"Me too!" Chetara said. "I'm in."

"I'm in. There's no way I'm missing this." Arika said.

"Great." Ari said. "Now it's just the four of us against an incredibly strong demon..."

"How strong...?" Chetara asked.

"Well, the 7 of us at our current power got blown away. He demolished us." Ari said. "We didn't stand a chance."

"Saw it too." Hiei said. "I'll join you. Ari, you need to rest."

"Tsk." Ari said. "Watch me." She walked out the door with her friends. Hiei chased them. Kurama did, too. The team looked at each other.

"Why not?" Yusuke asked.

He chased after them too. Kuwabara told his sister, "Take care of Eikichi." And he followed Yusuke.

Out in the woods, all seven of them were gathered together.

"Are we ready to train like never before?" Ari asked.

"Yeah!" The girls chorused. The boys weren't so enthusiastic. Everyone started to train. They spared against other team members and learned what their weak areas are. (What part of their fighting needed to become stronger) They trained until everyone had to collapse on the ground.

"Let's go back now..." Ari said. "Back tomorrow." They went back, ate dinner, and went to bed.


	15. Chapter 15 Kienea, Youko Kurama

The next morning, everyone was feeling less than stellar. Yet, there was one odd thing. Chetara's hair turned black w/ red at the tips. So it was the items instead. Ari could barely move, yet she sparred with Kuwabara. (She won) She did, however, have ALL her spirit energy. She noted Kuwa's spirit sword. She made a shadow sword just like it.

"Let's fight!" Ari said. That caused Kuwa to freeze. Light against darkness. It was a spectacular fight, but would have been nothing if she wasn't in sooo much pain. (Looked like something from Star Wars)

After her sparring match, she grabbed her book and flipped it to the next page. There was a new move called Cloaking. She could shapeshift with the help of the shadows.

She shapeshifted into Kuwa. She walked into the clearing. Everyone froze and looked at her, then Kuwa. She turned back to normal.

Ari laughed. Everyone wanted her to shapeshift into them. Ari turned to Ash. She shapeshifted into the kitsune.

She turned to normal and went back into the woods. She turned the page. Kienea. A black hole move... She could do it easily. Make a black hole. She turned the page. Raolne. There was no discription for this one. She studied it. She performed the moves nessesary to do the move. Suddenly, something fell from the sky. It seemed to be...It was an animal. A shadow animal. A giant cheetah. It bore its eyes into her. She knew she'd summoned something that could hurt her. It walked over to her. She froze. It licked her hand.

"WHAT?" The cheetah looked at her. She summoned Kuro.

(What is this?) Ari asked.

(It's a Shadow Cat!) Kuro sounded shocked. (They don't exist anymore! They're extinct!)

(Obviously, they're not.) Ari said. (It likes me.)

Kuro studied the Shadow Cat. (You need to name it. It thinks you're it's master.)

(Oh...) Ari thought. (...)

Shadow Cat bore her huge black eyes into Ari's green ones.

(Shadow...) Ari thought.

"Shadow..." Ari said. The cat rubbed up against her. "Come on..." She walked into the clearing. Kuro behind her, and Shadow next to her.

Everyone just stared.

"Look what I've got!" Ari said. "Her name's Shadow. She's a Shadow Cat!"

"They're extinct aren't they?" Kurama asked. Ari rolled her eyes. Obviously they're not or Shadow wouldn't be here.

"No..." Ari said.

"Uh...No beep, that's kind of obvious." Arika said. "There's one right here, so they can't be extinct."

"They have been believed to be extinct for hundreds of years." Kurama said.

"Ooo!" Ash starting petting the tame cat. Kurama started to walk over. Shadow growled and got ready to attack.

"Shadow!" Ari said. Shadow didn't like Kurama. (Cuz of Youko) No one else did Shadow dislike.

"Wonder why she doesn't like you, Kurama?" Ari asked. "Maybe she smells fox?"

"Maybe..." Kurama said. Ari thought a moment.

"You're a kitsune, right?"

"Yes." Kurama nodded. The light clicked on at that moment. Kurama. Youko Kurama. Kitsune. BAM! Her legs gave out. Hiei knew she knew.

"What's wrong?" Ash and Arika asked.

"No-nothing." Ari faked. She got up and brushed the dirt off her pants.

(Uh-oh...) Ari thought.

(There are two souls in Kurama's body. Youko and Shuichi.) Hiei told her.

(Two?) Ari asked.

(I didn't know that either.) Kuro said.

"You've been acting weird." Arika said.

Ari brushed it off. She petted Shadow.

"..." Ari wanted to say something. (I probably shouldn't say anything to him...)

(I know I sure wouldn't.)

"No." Hiei said.

"Yes, she is. It's so beeping obvious that..." Arika said.

"She is." Ash said.

"..." Ari was silent. Shadow yawned hugely. Shadow eyed Ari.

(So...Don't say anything?"

(Right. Not a word."

"So, what?" Arika asked. "You're acting like a weirdo, Ari!"

"What!" Ari said. "I didn't say anything."

Hiei pointed to his head.

(Oh..." Ari tried to close the link. (I can't close it."

Kuro began to laugh in her head.

"What?" Ash said.

"I...uh..." Ari faked.

"What?" Arika said. "Ari, what the hell's wrong with you?"

Ari got up and walked away. Shadow followed. She growled at them, to make sure they didn't follow them.

"I'm going back to the castle. It's 6:00pm. Time for training to end anyway." Ari called over her shoulder.

She walked back to the castle. She was tired. She'd spent alot of energy today. Making black holes and such. She needed her sleep. As a neko, she needed at least 16 hours.


	16. Chapter 16 Tournament and reputations

The next day-

"We've enrolled you in a lower class tournament." Koenma said.

"How low?" Ari asked.

"Not low for you. Low for them." Koenma said.

"I'm not asking who it's low for!" Ari snapped. Shadow growled, fiercingly.

"E demons!" Koenma said, scared.

"Ah. Weak."

"Weak? What rank are you?" Koenma asked.

"We don't do ranks." Ari said.

"Kuwabara...Tell us how strong they are."

"He won't..."Ari said. Shadow yawned.

"Weird. I'm not getting anything..." Kuwabaka said.

"Let me try then." Hiei concentrated. Ari grinned.

"Nothing..." Ari said.

Ash laughed. "Ari, you're so weird."

"No, she's not. She's NORMAL. Yes. Like hell she is." Arika said.

"She's simply masking her energy." Chetara said.

Hiei raised one eyebrow. A major statement for Hiei.

"Ari...Show 'em what you got. Do that thing you do!" Ash laughed. Shadow looked at her.

Ari sighed. She relaxed herself. She took deep breaths, waiting...

The room began to spark and buzz with the high concentration of energy. Glasses began to vibrate. They began to hum, then shattered. Windows shattered like glass. The walls themselves vibrated like crazy. Shadow whined.

"Ari!" Chetara said. "Don't relax too much..."

"No beep, sherlock. I think she knows..." Arika said.

"Don't worry, I've figured out just how much energy I can release without the walls caving in." Ari said.

"Why does that scare me even more...?" Chetara asked.

"Maybe because she's bad at math!" Ash said.

"Works for me." Arika said. Then, the massive energy went away. Like that. It just WENT AWAY.

Ari grinned. "See? If I had released much more, the room would be nothing more than rubble. I know when to...uh. Stop." Ari fumbled.

"What were you going to say?" Arika asked.

"Nothing." Ari said.

"You were gonna say somethinnnn..." Arika said.

"Nope."

"..." Chetara said.

"Come on, tell us." Arika said. Shadow growled.

"When's this tournament?" Ari asked.

"Uh...you go today and start tomorrow." Koenma said.

"Ok! Let's go!" Ari said, ignoring Arika's pleas.

--------------------------------------------------

At the tournament-

Ari stepped to the counter.

"Do we have to sign up?...Or are we already signed up?"

"Sign up. Here." he pointed.

"Uh...Chetara, Arika, Ash? Did you read this?" Ari asked. "Did anyone read the fine print?"

"Let me see that." Chetara grabbed it. "Hm."

"Yeah, it says, 'The owners of the tournament are not responsible if you are beaten, bludgeoned, mauled, lacerated, wounded, maimed, mangled, mutilated, annihilated, butchered, decimated, massacred, slaughtered, murdered, eviscerated, or disemboweled." Ari read.

"Well, they have to say that just in case, you know?" Chetara said. Ari signed her name with a florish. Ariana Miyuki. "Ariana...Miyuki?" Boy asked, shocked. Ari winced. "Yeah..." "Good luck, Miss Miyuki!" Boy said.

"yeah..." Ari slunk away. She hid in their room for awhile. Chetara found her and tried to find out what her problem was.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. He...recognized me. I HATE that..."

"Well, get over it. You're a princess and well, That's that. You're going to have to live with all this."

Ari sighed. "I feel wounded. JERK."

"Oh well. You're going to stay in here, then?" Chetara asked.

"Yeah." Ari said.

"Ok." Chetara left.

Meanwhile in the main room, the boy was making some choice phone calls to the Neko cities around the area. They were all thrilled to get a chance to meet their idol, Ariana.

Hiei slipped into their room. He looked around and didn't see anyone. He walked out and...a hand grabbed his. He jumped 30 feet in the air. He looked, it was Ari.

"Hey, Hiei. What's up?"

"Can't I go to my own room when I want?" Hiei retorted.

"I didn't ask why you were here. I asked what was going on."

"...Nothing, I guess." Her ears layed down a little, like she knew he was lying.

"Ah. I see." Ari pulled her hand away and curled back into a ball.

"Why are you laying here in the dark?" Hiei asked.

"Number one, I like the dark. Lots of shadows. Number two, I was taking a nap." She muttered into the couch.

"..." Hiei looked at her. "You sleep alot."

"I'm a neko. I need my 16 hours of sleep."

"16?" Hiei laughed.

Ari growled. "Yes. 16."

"Hn. I see. You're lazy then."

"Not lazy. Just a neko."

Hiei bit the retort he felt coming back. He didn't dare say it.

"What?" Ari looked at him. "So you've heard our reputation too, then?"

Hiei frowned. What? How did she know that I...?

"Not ALL of us are like that." She said quietly.

"Just every one I've seen and heard of." He said with a smirk.

"Then again, I'm sure you know all there is to know about reputations, right, Hiei?"

That wiped the smirk off his face. A painful look spread across his face.

Ari sighed. She hated to be stereotyped. There was a loud noise outside her window. Really loud. Deafining. Ari got up and walked over to the window. What she saw stunned her.


	17. Chapter 17 Neko fanclubs and Kenji

"WE LOVE YOU, ARI!" Neko fangirls/fanboys cheered.

"ARI! I LOVE YOU!" A particularly brave fanboy yelled.

"Ok, I want his number." Ari said. "I like him!"

"Who are you talking..." Hiei went to the window. There were hundreds of nekoes screaming, "Ari!"

Now Hiei gaped. "There's so many."

Ari grimaced. "I know." Ari made a face. "MY fanclub. Someone must have told them I was here."

Hiei frowned. He stuck his head out the window. There were nekoes as far as a person could see out from the third floor of a building.

"There must be hundreds of them."

Ari nodded. "Eighty-six hundred to be exact."

Hiei got wide-eyed in shock. He pulled his head out the window. "Eight thousand, six hundred! That's your fanclub?"

Chetara burst in the door. "Ari! Look outside."

"I know." Ari said. She stuck her head outside. The cheering was deafining. "My fanclub. Do you know how they figured out I was here?"

Chetara shook her head. "No...idea." Chetara stuck her head out along side Ari. "How many are there?"

"8,600." Hiei said.

Chetara jerked her head up, slamming it on the frame. "Eight thousand?"

"Almost nine thousand." Ari commented. "It's getting bigger everyday they figure out where I am. Last, um...month there was 8,600. There's more now."

They couldn't believe it. "Every neko in the next thousand miles must be here." Chetara said.

"...No. There are many more nekoes that haven't came. Nekoes have, like, six kids everytime so there's ALOT of us." Ari commented.

At their looks of shock she added, "If we marry a demon that's not a neko there's usually only one." Some of the look went away at that. She stuck her head back out and yelled, "People! Please silence yourselves!"

They quieted down immeadiately. The same fanboy from earlier yelled, "I LOVE YOU!"

Ari pulled her head out for a second. "Remind me to talk to him privately, please."

"Why?" Hiei asked.

"I want his number and address." Ari said, sticking her head back out the window.

Hiei seethed behind her. Chetara said, "Ok. Talk to them. Make them go away." She glanced at Hiei, who seemed to be furious for no reason.

"People, listen! There will be a tournament tomorrow in which I am participating in!" Ari said. "I would appriciate it if you would let me sleep now. I request that you come watch the tournament tomorrow. But, let me sleep!" The nekoes screamed, "We love you!" They backed away slowly.

"Thank you! All of you!" Ari yelled. She noticed fanboy walking away. She waved at him and told him to stay awhile through telepathy.

"Ari! YOU TOLD THEM TO COME BACK TOMORROW!" Chetara yelled.

"I know...Got him!" Ari said. Chetara shook her head. Hiei turned and faced the other way. He couldn't watch. He was too angry.

Ari walked to the door. "I'll be back later. See ya." She exited the room.

Chetara turned to Hiei. "What's wrong with you?"

"...Hn. Nothing, wolf. I'm switching you rooms. Sleep here." He went to his room in the hotel.

(See in the tournament, there are so many people that they have to make two ppl share a room. Of course, in this room, there's Chetara and Ari. Two beds to a room. Hiei's room is shared with Kurama. Ash and Arika share one. Yusuke and Kuwabara share one.)

Ari walked into the lobby. There was one neko fanboy in the lobby.

"Hello." Ari said.

"Hello there." fanboy grinned.

"Let's walk." Ari said. "Tell me who you are, first."

They did walk. Fanboy's name was Kenji. Ari talked to him forever.

"I better get back. I do need my sleep." Ari said.

"Of course. I'll be at your tournament tomorrow." Kenji said.

Ari went to her room. She went to Chetara and her shared room. Chetara was sitting there, bored. Shadow jumped to greet her.

"Hey Ari!" Chetara said. "Done with fanboy?"

"His name's Kenji. And yes. I'm tired." Ari said.

Chetara looked at Ari carefully, as if thinking about something. Ari peered at her and suddenly her thoughts became an open book.

(I'm positive fanboy is just using her. Kenji, she called him. Hm. And Hiei was acting weird earlier after Ari left. I still can't figure out what was wrong with him.) Chetara was deep in thought but snapped out of it.

"Well, I'm tired too. I think I'll go to bed now." Chetara said.

"Ok. Night." Ari went to bed too.


	18. Chapter 18 Kurama's plants

When Ari took off after fanboy, Hiei stormed off in another direction. He went to the room Chetara was supposed to have. He went to his new room to sulk. Kurama was there, examining everything and arranging his plants amongst the room.

"Let's see...Buttercup goes in the window...She's been a little sick lately...She needs extra light. My Lily goes over in the corner...She has had too much light lately..." Hiei stormed in almost stepping on one of Kurama's plants.

"Watch it, please!" Kurama said. He scooped it up protectively.

"...Hn." Hiei said. He climbed on a bed and sat down. He watched Kurama arrange his plants.

Kurama glanced at Hiei for a second. "Hello Hiei."

"...Hn..." Hiei was still sulking.

Kurama picked up another plant, forgetting Hiei was there. "My Gladiolas go... in the window because they need more sunlight. They look a little ill...I think they got airsick on the way over..."

Hiei simply stared at Kurama. Airsick? Plants?

"My Lilies of the Valley need more water...They look parched...And I need to put more minerals in the soil...They don't look as cheerful as they should be..." Kurama said. "Poor babies." He crooned.

Hiei choked back a laugh. He shouldn't laugh at Kurama. But he was so worried about his plants.

"My Rose looks sick too...Probably the ground level here and change of temperature and carbon dioxide...She's in shock..." Kurama said. "My poor poor Rose. My poor baby girl..." He cooed at the plant, lovingly.

Hiei couldn't help it. He couldn't stand it any longer. He erupted in laughter.

Kurama stopped, blushing a little. "Yes, Hiei?"

"...hahaha...!" He laughed.

Kurama was embarrassed and being a redhead didn't help the situation. He blushed like fire. "..."

Then, Hiei stopped. He was sulking again. Kurama watched him.

"What's wrong, Hiei?" Kurama asked him. Hiei was sulking. And pouting. You haven't seen cute 'til you've seen Hiei pout.

"...hn..." Hiei looked away. "..."

"Hiei?" Kurama prodded.

"That kyogen baka neko." Hiei said.

Kurama frowned. "Ari?"

Hiei nodded, scowling. "Worthless neko."

"What did she do?" Kurama asked.

"Her and her baka fanclub. I hate that neko." Hiei layed down.

"Fanclub?" Kurama asked.

"There's like 8,600 members." Hiei said.

Kurama gaped. "Eight thousand?"

"..."

"uh..." Kurama tried to get over the shock. "What did she do, exactly?"

"Nothing. She's a baka." Hiei said.

Kurama fiddled with one of his plants. "What made you think that, Hiei?"

"Nothing. It's obvious." Hiei said.

Kurama raised his eyebrows. "Ah. I see." He knew there was more to it. "Are you staying here tonight?"

"Yes. I switched rooms with the wolf." Hiei said.

Kurama nodded. "I see." He knew better than to pressure Hiei.

Hiei was silent, thinking. Kurama tended to his plants. Hiei thought for 15 minutes before he spoke.

"What you said about the plants...did you mean all that?" Hiei asked.

"Yes." Kurama said.

"Ah..." Hiei said.

Kurama waited. Any second now...

"She was talking to her fanclub and one yelled out a bunch of stupid stuff and she's hanging out with him." Hiei blurted. "He didn't even mean any of that."

"..." Kurama listened. He wasn't sure to talk or not. He looked at Hiei, who looked miserable.

"Maybe it's not what he said, but the fact he was able to say it. Or maybe it was because he was brave enough to try. She could like his guts and courage." Kurama pointed out.

"Hn..." Hiei looked at Kurama. "Which side are you on anyway?"

Kurama was momentarily puzzled. "I don't know enough to choose sides."

"Right." Hiei said.

"Why are you so concerned?" Kurama asked.

"I just am!" Hiei snapped.

Kurama fell silent.


	19. Chapter 19 More Kurama's plants, w Kuro

Hiei sulked for a few minutes. Kurama stroked his plants and cooed at them quietly, hoping Hiei wouldn't hear.

"Do they listen to you when you talk to them?" Hiei asked.

"...Yes. It makes them feel better and grow faster." Kurama said.

To which Hiei replied the same way any skeptic would, "Plants have feelings?"

"Yes, Hiei! They do!" Kurama said. "They get airsick, they suffer from lack of nutrients, they get sick." Then Kurama closed his eyes. "Sometimes they even die. When someone else takes care of them. They never die when I take care of them!"

"Obviously. You spoil them." Hiei said.

Kurama gasped. "Hiei! I do not! You cannot spoil plants!"

"Leave them sit too long and they will. Besides, put them in the ground and see how long they last." Hiei said. "They're weak. They'd never survive on their own."

"They aren't spoilt." Kurama said, carefully calming himself down. "I'm not spoiling them."

"Hn. Believe whatever you want, kitsune." Hiei said.

Kurama sighed. Hiei was just being impossible! Youko wanted Kurama to take revenge and say something mean but Kurama wouldn't allow it.

(My plants are NOT spoilt! I did NOT spoil them!) Kurama thought. (Hiei is just in a bad mood over Ari. I can't help but wonder why.)

Then, Youko stepped in and spoke. (Why not? She's very worth it.)

(You don't even know her Youko. How would you know?) (Trust me, I know. I talked to her. She's quite beautiful and worth it.With her purple eyes and...)

Kurama gasped slightly. (You TALKED to her?)

(Yes. I was so close. I knew what my goal was and I kept my eyes on the prize. Too bad little three eyes had to step in...) (Hiei!)

(Yes. She started using her powers to try to stop me and then the little fire youkai had to step in. He'll regret that.) Kurama couldn't believe it.

He whirled on his axis like a dancer. Hiei couldn't help but think Kurama should become a dancer.

"Yes...?" Hiei asked Kurama.

"You knew that Youko tried something on Ari and didn't tell me!" Kurama whined.

Hiei blinked. "Yes. I thought we should keep it a secret."

"...A secret?" Kurama said, in disbelief. "Youko attacked Ari and it should be a secret?"

"Yes. You're not responsible for what the fox does." Hiei said. "She doesn't hold you responsible either."

Kurama turned his back to Hiei, ignoring him. He almost overwatered one of his plants over his current mood.

Hiei blinked. "She's back."

"How do you know that?" Kurama asked, looking at Hiei.

"Number one...Him." He pointed to Kuro. His shadow was moving and squirming.

"What's wrong with him?" Kurama asked.

"I'm sitting on him." Hiei replied.

"And...?" Kurama asked.

"Number two, I can feel her energy." Hiei said. He poked his shadow which tried to poke him back. He heard a voice say, "Let me go!" in his head. Hiei jumped up and Kuro took off. Kurama watched him go.

"Why are you so worried about her?" Kurama asked, in a bad mood.

"Don't worry about it!" Hiei snapped. They fell silent.

"You should go talk to her at least." Kurama said.

"Why?" Hiei asked, bluntly.

"Just to see how it went." Kurama said. "You can use Kuro as an excuse."

"You're using the name she gave him?" Hiei asked. "How can you remember that?"

Kurama smiled. "It's familiar. I knew someone named that a long time ago...Anyway, you should go." He turned his back. Soon he heard, SWISH THUMP THUMP THUMP SQUEEK CLICK. He knew Hiei was gone. He smiled. Now he could get back to taking care of his sick little Rose.


	20. Chapter 20 Ari's date, cheating flower

Ari, once in her room, was bored. She summoned Kuro. She waited and waited. Kuro didn't come. She stroked Shadow absently.

(What's up with him?) Ari wondered. (Where is he?)

Kuro showed up then. He ran at her. (ARI!)

(Hey, Kuro. Where were you?) Ari asked.

(Hiei was sitting on me.) Kuro said, lightly.

(Ah...I'm sorry.) Ari choked back a laugh.

"How are you, Kuro?" Ari asked.

(Forget me! How was your date?) Kuro said. (NOTHING LIKE HIEI HUH?)

"How'd you know? And, it wasn't even a date, really. If it had been a date it would've been boring." Ari said.

(How was it?) Kuro asked.

"...It was fun!" Ari squealed. "I had a really good time!"

(Great!) Kuro said. (And you wanted to know how I knew?)

Shadow yawned hugely.

"Yes." Ari said.

(I knew by...) Kuro was cut off by Hiei.

"Hello, Ari." Hiei sat down.

"Hello Hiei." Ari said.

"Have fun?" He sounded glum.

"Yes. I did, actually." Ari said.

"Good." Hiei said.

"Why was Chetara in our room?" Ari asked.

"I switched her rooms." Hiei said.

"Ah." Ari said.

(So...What's he doing here?) Kuro asked.

"I'm HERE to get you!" Hiei said. Kuro jumped.

"Is that it...?" Ari asked. She tried not to sound disappointed.

"Yes." Hiei said. She could tell he wanted to know how her date went.

"..."

"...What'd you guys do, anyway?" Hiei blurted.

Kuro snickered.

"We went for a walk outside." Ari said.

"Ah..." Hiei said. "What was fanboy's name anyway?"

"Kenji." Ari said. "He's going to be at my tournament tomorrow."

Hiei nodded. "..." (Hn. Don't count on that...)

Kuro jumped. (You're going to sabotage her only date?)

(...Stay out of it, shadow!)

(You can't do that!) Kuro said. (It's not like she has that many people to fall back on!)

(Stay OUT OF IT I SAID!)

(If you get rid of him, I'll tell her you did it!) Kuro shouted. (I swear!)

(Bring it shadow!) Hiei said.

"Should've been there earlier." Hiei said. "Kurama was talking to his plants and it was strange."

"What was he saying?" Ari asked.

"He said, 'My poor poor Rose. My poooor baby..." Hiei fought a laugh. "and he was talking about them being airsick." Ari laughed hysterically.

Hiei glared at Kuro. (You will be quiet, shadow. You hear me?)

(Yes, master...) Kuro sighed. He HAD to obey Hiei. No choice.

"I'm going. Kuro is coming with me." Hiei said. "Come on..."

Kuro melted and settled under Hiei. Hiei heard Kuro growl, (If you're going to ruin her chance with Kenji, you will take his place.)

Hiei growled at him before retreating to his room. Kurama was sitting there, talking to one of his flowers.

Hiei heard Kurama say, "He's just getting all worked up over nothing, Rose. He'll come to his senses soon enough. He'll realize you weren't cheating on him with Daffodil and all will be..." Kurama looked up and saw Hiei. "Ah...He-hello Hiei."

Hiei just stared at Kurama.

"Are you nuts, Kitsune?" Hiei blurted out.

"I had to help poor Rose!" Kurama blurted. "Her boyfriend's accusing her of cheating!"

"A flower is accusing another flower of cheating with another flower?" Hiei was in disbelief.

"Yes..." Kurama put Rose back on the window.

"Let me guess, the other flower tried to pollenate her and her boyfriend saw?" Hiei asked.

Kurama gasped. "How'd you know, Hiei?"

Hiei shook his head. "Never mind."

Kurama slid forward. "Did you see it?" Kurama asked.

"What?"

"Did you see what happened?" Kurama asked. "You could clear the whole thing up!"

"I didn't see what happened, Kitsune, so shut up!" Hiei snapped.

"Oh, ok." Kurama sighed.

"I'm going to bed." Hiei said.

"Night, Hiei."


	21. Chapter 21 Exit Kenji, broken hairbrush

The next morning, Hiei got up early. He waited outside at the intersection to Ari and Chetara's room. Soon enough, fanboy came running up. He looked eager and excited.

Hiei growled at him.

"Excuse me...Do you know where Ari's room is?" Kenji asked.

"Yes." Hiei said. He didn't move. He growled at him.

"..." Kenji looked at him.

"Leave her alone, fanboy." Hiei growled. "Unless you WANT to die."

"Ah..." Kenji said, frightened.

"If I see you near her again, I will rip your intestines out and strangle you with them." Hiei growled.

"No...no thank you." Kenji said, terrified.

"Get out of here, fanboy."

Kenji took off like a thing possessed, thinking, (She didn't tell me she had a boyfriend!)

Hiei felt happy, in spite of what had happened. That went incredibly well. Turns out fanboy was a weakling. (All that was left was...) He frowned. This was the not so fun part. This was the hard part.

"Morning, Hiei." Ari came up, yawning.

"Ari." Hiei nodded at her.

"Have you seen Kenji?" Ari asked. "He was SUPPOSED to be here."

"No." Hiei lied. "Fanboy stood you up."

Ari froze. "Oh?"

"Yeah."

Ari frowned, as if thinking about something. Chetara and Arika came up.

"Hey, Hiei." Chetara said. "Sleep well?"

Hiei growled. "No. With the kitsune cooing and having gabfests with his plants ALL NIGHT LONG, I couldn't sleep."

"Gabfests?"

"Yeah. This plant is cheating with this plant while sleeping with this other plant." Hiei growled.

"What?" Chetara asked.

"What the hell?" Arika asked.

"That wasn't the exact conversation the eight of them had, but it was close." Hiei growled.

Kurama came out of his room, yawning.

"Morning..." Kurama yawned. The girls sort of stared at him a minute.

"Yes...?" Kurama asked.

"Nothing. Morning, Kurama." Ari said.

"Morning." Chetara said, with a grin. They looked at Kurama. He SO wasn't ready to step outside that door. It had to be a mistake, because his beautiful red hair was in tangles. On top of talking to his garden plants, his hair was one big knot, almost.

"What the hell's wrong w/ your hair?"

"Did you brush your hair this morning?" Ari asked.

"Why?" Kurama put a hand to his head. He freaked out.

"What happened to my hair!" He ran back inside.

"Weird. Kitsune usually doesn't have to brush his hair. It stays silky smooth and straight." Hiei said, calmly. It sounded strange coming from his mouth. Ari realized something.

"What did you DO to his hair?" Ari asked, with big eyes.

Hiei grinned. "I couldn't sleep. So he's going to suffer."

Chetara couldn't stop laughing. They heard Kurama call, "Hiei!"

"What?" Hiei called back.

"Help!" Kurama yelled.

"What'd you do?"

"I broke the hairbrush!" Ari slammed onto her knees, laughing hysterically.

"Ah...HE BROKE THE HAIRBRUSH!" Ari cracked up.

"In your hair?" Hiei called.

"YES! HELP ME!" Kurama called.

"Why?" Hiei growled.

"PLEASE, HIEI?"

"I'll help..." Chetara said.

"Guess I will too." Ari sighed. "Taking care of your hair is so hard." They left Hiei wondering, why are they helping the fox? Grr... He jumped up and ran after them.

They were standing around Kurama, who was almost in tears.

"Poor Kurama." Ari said. "The best bet would be to untangle it section by section, I think."

"Yeah. You work over there, I'll try over here." Chetara agreed.

They gently set to work untangling the thick locks of hair. It still hurt Kurama a little, though.

"You're a wimp when it comes to your hair, Kitsune." Hiei commented. Ari gently untangled the broken hairbrush from Kurama's hair. Hiei watched them.

"You know, you do have beautiful hair, Kurama." Ari said. Hiei growled quietly.

"Thanks. I take good care of it." Kurama sniffed. "Usually. I don't know what happened."

"It'll be really gorgeous when it's untangled." Chetara agreed. They continued to seperate the sections of hair.

"Ow." Kurama said.

"Sorry," Ari apologized.

"It's ok." Kurama said. Hiei continued to watch. Ari took the brush through the part that was mostly untangled. Half of it fell free, untangled. Chetara took the brush and finished untangling the other half.

"There!" Ari said. Hiei just watched. They were done. Fox's hair was all straight, and according to Ari, beautiful. That made him unhappy. Hiei, not Kurama.

"How much time do you spend on your hair a day anyway?" Ari asked. "And what keeps falling out of it?"

Kurama's eyes widened. He got down and started picking up the fallen things. Chetara got down too.

"Seeds?"

"Yes. I'm a plant elemental." Kurama explained. "I can turn these seeds into deadly weapons."

"Oh, ok." Chetara said, and helped Kurama.

"How much time do you spend on your hair a day to get it to look beautiful like that?" Ari asked. "You oughta become a human beautician."

Hiei snickered.

"I might." Kurama said. "I spend on a daily basis, 6 hours on it. I brush it slowly and carefully, brushing out the seeds, then I wash it carefully and thoroughly and then condition it. Then I blow dry and..."

Kurama went over his whole daily hair routine for the girls who were listening carefully. Hiei fought the urge to laugh at them.

"So, once a week you put lemon juice on it?" Ari asked.

"Yes. It adds shine. And the egg rinse adds body." Kurama said.

"Ooh!" Chetara said. "And..."

They were having an entire discussion with him about how to wash your hair! Hiei was getting ill just listening.

"And the human shampoos are bad for your hair?" Ari asked.

"Most are, yes." Kurama smiled. "I can make you two some special shampoo, if you wish. It'll take me three days, though. If I grow it any faster it'll have demonic properties and it'll try to eat you two." Kurama laughed.

Ari and Chetara laughed too. "Evil shampoo!"

Hiei was seriously getting ill. He couldn't figure out what it was. He wasn't so sure it was the conversation, now. There was something else.


	22. Chapter 22 Youko and the Demon Vine

Ok, first off, I need to point out some very important milestones in Maikai Thieves. I have passed chapter 20. Actually 22.And I have reached 50 reviews. Actually, 53. And...19people have Maikai Thieves on their favorites list! YES! I love you all...Keep reading and I'll keep writing and posting.

* * *

"Hiei, are you ok?" Ari asked. Hiei threw up all over the ground. (What...is...that?)

Ari ran over there. She froze.

"What...is...that...smell?" Ari choked out. "Ugh..."

Kurama and Chetara ran over.

"I don't smell anything." Kurama said.

"Ugh. I do." Chetara growled.

"I don't smell anything." Kurama said.

"It's making me sick..." Chetara growled.

"I don't smell anything." Kurama repeated.

"Ugh..." Ari groaned. "What is that?" Hiei started to gag. Ari dragged him to the other side of the room. Chetara got up and followed her.

"Kurama, do you have anything with demonic properties, right now?"

"No. I shouldn't." Kurama said. He looked around.

"Hm..." Ari said.

The team knocked on the door.

"We're coming in! Hope you two are decent!" Yusuke called. He barged in.

"Woah. What's wrong w/ you all? Did Kurama try to feed you something he made?"

"No. Long story. Yusuke, go over there and see if you smell anything." Ari said. He did. Nothing.

"I don't smell anything." Yusuke couldn't smell it. Kuwabara didn't either.

"Nothing." Kuwabara said. Koenma went over.

"Ugh!" Koenma said. "WHAT IS THAT?"

"We don't know!" Ari said.

Koenma gagged. He backed away from the corner.

"Why can't we smell it?" Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara asked.

"We don't know. Don't even know what it is. You all have something in common, though." Ari said.

"What?" They asked.

"You all have human bodies. You all have all or half human blood." Ari said.

"What could it be?" They asked. Ash and Arika went over and started gagging. Kurama got an idea then.

"Guess it's up to me to be the in-between..." Kurama grumbled. "Girls, hide. I'd recommend it." The girls took his lead. Ari knew what he was going to do.

Chetara peeked over the side of the bed.

"Get down!" Ari hissed, grabbing Chetara's head and pulling it down. She pulled the other girls down.

"HIDE NOW!" Ari whispered viciously.

They heard a deep male voice talking.

"I'm suprised Shuichi couldn't figure out what it was." The voice said.

"Who is that?" Ash asked.

"shh..." Ari quieted her.

"What's it called?" Yusuke asked.

"It's called a demon vine." Deep voice said. "It gets demons very sick."

"How come you're not sick?" Kuwabara asked.

"I made myself an antidote a very long time ago..." The voice smirked. Ash couldn't stand it. She popped her head over the side of the bed. Youko noticed her.

"Well, hello there." Youko smirked. "How many of you are hiding over there?"

"Four..." Ash said. She couldn't stop staring, he was sooo dreamy.

Chetara popped her head over the edge.

"Who are you?" Chetara asked.

Ari groaned quietly. Arika popped up.

"Hi!" Arika said. "What the hell are ya doin?"

"I'm the famous thief Youko Kurama..." Youko smirked. "And I'm removing the thing that made you all sick..."

"Cool! Can I see?" Arika asked.

"Yes." Youko smirked. "But, I do have one query..."

"What's a query?" Arika asked.

"I think it's like, a question." Ash said, staring at Youko.

"It is." Chetara said.

"Who is the other one hiding over there?" Youko asked. "Come out."

Ari didn't move.

"Come on out." Youko said, smirking.

"Just pop your head up." Arika said. "Then you can sulk."

"forget it..." Ari said, quietly.

Arika and Ash dragged her up there. Ari socked Arika in the face.

"Wellll..." Youko grinned. "Hello, Ari."

Ari hissed at him.

"You know him!" Ash said.

"No way..." Chetara said.

Youko took a step towards her.

"Step away from me, fox boy. NOW..." Ari said. Youko shook his head.

"You're being so mean to a friend of yours..." Youko smirked again.

"Back up." Ari said.

Youko shook his head. He took another step towards her.

"I SAID..." Ari thought a minute. "Seidan!" Chair shadow slammed him into the wall. Youko was pinned.

"What are you doing?" Ash yelled. "Let him go!"

"FORGET IT." Ari growled. "He's staying right there until Kurama gets control."

Youko shook his head.

"You know..." Youko eyed her. There was a problem with that. With her jagan eye, she could see his thoughts, and they were sick.

"SHUT UP!" Ari yelled.

Youko studied her a second. "Ah. I'm sorry." He smirked.

"STOP IT!" Ari yelled. "Give Kurama back control!"

"Will you make me?" Youko asked, calmly. "Because...you know..."

Ari grabbed a real chair and flung it.

"I SAID STOP!" Ari yelled. Everyone watched.

"Oof." Youko said, as the chair hit him.

Youko bent his head. His long silver hair fell over his face.

"Very well, I suppose I can't force you..." Youko said.

"Can't force her into what?" Ash, Arika, and Chetara asked.

"That's right, you can't!" Ari yelled.

"At least...not as long as we have an audience..." Youko snickered.

Hiei groaned, stirred, and spat on the ground. He stood up and looked around. He saw Youko pinned to the wall.

"What are YOU doing here?" Hiei snarled.

Youko studied the ceiling. "I was here to remove the demon vine, but when I got here, there were these beautiful ladies, and..."

Ash, Arika, and Chetara giggled.

"Heh." Hiei snickered. "That's why you're pinned to the wall..."

"..." Youko studied Hiei. "Yes, your irresistible girlfriend did that."

"Probably because you tried to rape her again." Hiei said.

"Tsk." Youko said. "I did no such thing!" He smiled. More of a smirk, actually.

Hiei shook his head.

"And you know, you just admitted that she was your girlfriend." Youko snickered.

"Hn. I did not." Hiei said.

"You didn't say she wasn't either..." Youko commented.

"I didn't say she was." Hiei stuck to his earlier statement.

"You didn't say she wasn't..."Youko smirked.

"Look," Ari said. "We want Kurama back. NOW."

"Tsk." Youko frowned. "Maybe we can work out a trade...?" His eyes got a sick gleam to them, and he projected his thoughts to Ari.

"Forget it!" Ari spat. "NO WAY!"

"Hmn." Youko frowned. "Well then, Perhaps I'll continue to control Shuichi for awhile...You know."

"I said...!" Ari snarled.

Youko sighed. He looked toward the ladies watching him intently.

"Very well, I suppose I should let Shuichi back out." Youko said.

"Good...bye!" Ari snarled.

"Farewell..." Youko said, grinning at the ladies. The ladies giggled at him.

A shimmering light engulfed him and soon, red-haired Kurama was seen.


	23. Chapter 23 PMSing, Koto, and birds

Oh, yeah, before I post! I love all 21 of you who have Maikai Thieves on ur favorites list! It's awesome to know that you people love my silly story that when I started it had no plot, no prethought nething. Just write whatever I felt like writing whenever I felt like writing it. So...It means alot to methat you all like it. Oh, and just for the record, when I started I had an idea for the pairings but now...-shrugs- I'm trying to pair Chetara and I with someone but it's tough. So, there might not be any pairings. -cries loudly- We'll remain single forever! Nooo!(grins)But, I'm sure you all don't care so enjoy!

* * *

"Uh..." Kurama looked at himself and assessed the situation.

"Hello, Kurama." Ari said. The chair disappeared.

"Hello..." Kurama replied. "I'm assuming he got out of control."

"Yeah, basically." Ari said, a little unhappily.

"No, he didn't." Chetara said. "He was just talking to us and Ari freaked out!"

"Yeah, Ari was just acting really weird." Arika said. "That cute guy, Youko, was talking to us and Ari started screaming and attacking him!" Ash yelled.

Kurama raised an eyebrow.

"Uh..." Yusuke stuttered. Hiei couldn't even defend Ari because he hadn't seen all of it.

"We need to get going to the tournament..." The guys said, confused.

"Fine!" Ari snapped. She left, eyes blazing. The girls exchanged a glance.

"She's PMSing." Arika said, crossing her arms.

"Has to be. There's no other explaination as to why she would attack that really cute guy." Ash said.

"What's PMSing?" Kuwabara asked.

"What do you think, Chetara?"

"I agree, but it's not as bad as usual." Chetara said.

"What is PMSing?" Kuwabara asked, again.

"She needs help." Arika said. "I mean, really. That cute guy and all she could do was attack him!"

"For sure..." Ash frowned. "Ari's been acting so weird lately..."

"I think she has a crush on someone." Chetara stated.

"Really!" Ash blurted. "Who?"

"Ari?" Arika asked. "Like that's anything new!"

"Actually, Arika's right. Ari's always crushing on someone..." Ash said, thinking.

"But never like this."

"Really? How so?" Ash asked.

"I'll tell you about it later."

"Ok, well, we need to get going, I guess." Yusuke asked.

"WHAT IS PMSING?" Kuwabaka yelled.

"Let's go." Chetara said, walking outside.

"We got a tournament to win!" Ash said.

The boys watched the girls file out of the room, talking about the many things they had discovered and been through.

Ari was waiting at the door of the auditorium.

"We're going to beat the boys for sure..." Ari commented. "But you girls might want to go in first."

"Why?"

"Just trust me..." Ari said. In saying so, the girls and guys filed in before Ari.

When Ari walked in, the noise was deafening. The fangirls/fanboys were screaming.

"They seem to love you." Chetara commented.

"..." Ari was attempting to hide behind thin air.(Hehe...) She ducked behind the gaggle of girls and hid there.

"You shouldn't have told them you were going to be here." Chetara said, moving aside, revealing Ari to the fans.

"Hey!" Ari said, as the fans screamed. "You did that on purpose!"

"Yeah, so?" Chetara said, shrugging.

"Will Team Macaroni Penguins please head for the stage?" The announcer called. In a state of irony, the announcer was Koto.

"Call us MP!" Arika said.

"The Macaroni Penguins?" The looks on the boys faces was priceless.

"Not our idea. We couldn't come up with a teamname so one of our ningen friends named us." Ari said, calmly. "Let's go, girls!"

"Will the team captain come to the middle stage?" Koto asked.

"Uh..." The girls exchange glances. "We don't have one... Ari, you do it. We'll take turns."

Ari hopped on stage, and the fans screeched and yelled. The room was packed with neko fans. Ari ignored them, best she could.

"Good luck." Her male opponent snickered.

"Yeah, keep it. You'll need it." Ari said.

After a short fight, Ari thrashed her opponent and walked offstage. The cheering was deafining, and Ari had to yell.

"Your turn." Ari yelled at Ash.

"OK!" Ash yelled.

Ash jumped on stage and the cheering quieted down for her match. As Ash fought her opponent the crowds started actually watching the match. The more they watched, the more they began to like this new contender.

Finally, Ash defeated her opponent w/ her key move and grinned. The crowds cheered for the new contender.

Ash bowed and hopped offstage.

"Arika." Ari said. "Go...and if you want the crowds to watch, make it fun."

Arika thrashed her opponent thoroughly. The crowds began to cheer for her, too. Chetara was just as successful and popular.

"The score is...for possibly the first time ever for me 4-0! The MP's have it!" Koto yelled. "The next two teams, please step up!"

On the scoreboard, the words, Team Urameshi and Team Yehuri flashed.

"Looks like your team goes." Ari said. "Good luck."

"Keep it." Hiei said. "Isn't that what you told your opponent?"

"Hehe...yeah. But you need it more than me, Hiei." Ari said.

"I'm sure..." Hiei said.

"Hey, I'm going first!" Kuwabara said. His opponent stepped up. Kuwabara jumped into the ring. Ari was interested immeadiately in the scene in the ring. Kuwabara's opponent was a bird demon. Ari slunk towards the ring to watch them. Hiei raised an eyebrow at her, which Ari ignored.

"What's she doing?" Arika asked.

"No...clue..." Ash said.

"Me either." Chetara said.

Ari watched as Kuwabara fought him and it was obvious Kuwabara was going to win. But, Ari didn't care about that.

Hiei walked over there.

"What's wrong with you?" Hiei asked.

"He's a bird demon." Ari commented. "I wish to hurt him."

Hiei sighed. "The baka's got it under control."

"I know." Ari's head bounced back and forth watching him. Kuwa's opponent began to get nervous. Glance at her, dodge attack. Glance at her...get hit. Honestly, his opponent was more afraid of Ari then Kuwabara.

Ari's tail whipped around, once, twice. She appeared to be...getting ready to pounce.

"Ari!" Hiei yelled. Ari pulled her ears back, and ignored him. She was going to get that bird.

The bird looked at her...and jumped off stage. He ran for the hills and Ari chased him out the doors and farther than the onlookers could see.

"HEY!" Kuwabara yelled. "GET BACK HERE!"

Hiei buried his head in his hands and shook his head. Unbelievable...


	24. Chapter 24 Icicle, suffering, and dreams

"Uh..." Koto watched it. "Guess the cat wanted to chase the birdie! Cuz they are out of HERE!"

"Hehe..." Chetara laughed.

Arika and Ash couldn't stop laughing.

"That poor guy! Haha!" Ash laughed.

"I feel bad for him!" Arika laughed.

Hiei buried his head in his hands. Kurama bit his lip to keep from laughing and Yusuke was cracking up too. Kuwabara was mad because she had chased off the guy HE was fighting.

"No guy wants to be chased by anyone like that!" Arika gasped. "Especially if the chaser is Ari!"

"Haha..." Ash laughed.

"Uh... well, Kuwabara has won that one, I guess." Koto said. "Next match is between..."

Later that night...

Ari was exausted. She could barely limp to the hotel. She almost collapsed several times. Then suddenly, someone dropped down from a tree. The person held a blade to Ari's throat.

"What...are...you...doing...here?" The...girl?...asked.

"Please." Ari sighed. "I'm trying to get to my hotel. I'm too tired to even crawl. If you really want to kill me...go right ahead."

The girl stopped and frowned. She lowered her blade.

"I apologise. My name is Icicle." The girl smiled. The moon came out from behind a cloud and illuminated Icicle's blonde hair and...it looked like blue eyes.

"Ariana. Miyuki." Ari sighed. Her body hurt. ALOT.

"Would you like some help?" Icicle asked. "You are in so much pain, you offered to let me kill you. That took me by surprise."

"Oh, would you help me?" Ari asked. "Cuz...I need it. Alot."

Icicle helped her to the hotel.

"I will see you, Ariana." Icicle smiled.

"Ari. And I'll see you later too...If Hiei, or Chetara, or any of my other friends don't kill me first." Ari groaned.

Ari snuck into the hotel. She was exausted, and hurt...ALOT, but she had caught him, and played with him in her catlike way...He wouldn't be moving...or walking for quite awhile. She climbed the stairs to her room and entered quietly. The apartment appeared empty. But, that couldn't be, there was two to a room.

She wasn't sure who would be in here tonight, because this was Hiei and her room, but he switched with Chetara, so she didn't know who was staying in the room. She shut the door, and went to her bed in the room and while passing the sofa, something touched her. She wasn't scared...much. She was too tired and hurt too much to care.

(Whoever you are...just do whatever you have to do and get it over with...) Ari thought.

"Have fun?" Hiei asked.

"Yeah..." Ari groaned. "I hurt though. ALOT."

"Ah." Hiei said. "Told your friend to spend the night with Kitsune. I didn't want to listen to him."

"Ah...ok..." Ari said, rather tiredly.

"How long did you chase that guy?" Hiei asked.

"He just KEPT running...and kept running..." Ari said, barely keeping her head up.

"..." Hiei raised an eyebrow. Ari stumbled over to her bed. Shadow held Ari up.

"Night." Ari mumbled, not expecting an answer.

"...night." Hiei mumbled back.

Ari briefly felt shock, but fell asleep before she could think about it.

Later that night, Ari woke up to someone yelling at her. She couldn't figure out who it was, and was too tired to care.

"Lemme sleep." Ari growled. She was in the middle of a really good dream where she was alone in the forest somewhere with...

"ARI!" Hiei snapped. "You're broadcasting your dream! I don't want to hear it!" He threw a pillow at her. Shadow growled, menacingly.

"Sorry..." Ari yawned. (Oops..."

Ari threw his pillow back at him, closed the link and tried to fall asleep again. (Was he really that upset about my dream? I liked it...)

(Go to sleep, neko!) Hiei growled.

Ari yawned, and sleep claimed her once again. Hiei couldn't sleep after that, though.

(That's the best way to wake up...A/N: sarcasm) Hiei thought. (To have someone broadcasting their dream they're having about you to you.) A/N: Hehe...

Hiei frowned, and shook his head. He eventually fell asleep.

The next morning, Ari was woken up...again. By Hiei...again. But this time she actually had to get up.

"What...do you want?" Ari yawned.

"You need to get up." Hiei growled.

"Why?" Ari asked.

"You have a fight in...10 minutes." Hiei said, looking at the clock.

Ari jumped up and grabbed her jeans. (Remember the cloak? Still can't take it off...)

"Why didn't you say that?" Ari yelled. "10 minutes? Who takes 10 minutes to get ready?"

Hiei blinked. (Me...)

Ari ran into the bathroom and got dressed and took the brush out of the bathroom with her. She brushed her hair while scrambling around, doing stuff.

"Come on, Hiei!" Ari said, running out the door with the hairbrush.

Hiei blinked. He followed Ari, who was panicking. She ran into the auditorium where the girls were discussing where Ari was.

"Sorry, I'm late!" Ari said. "SOMEONE woke me up with 10 minutes to spare..."

"Oh, it's ok." Chetara said. "So..."

"Don't even say anything about how I look." Ari warned. "I know it's terrible." Ari continued to brush her hair.

"Ok, we won't." Arika remarked.

"Whose turn is it?"

"Yours." Chetara said.

"Here!" Ari shoved the hairbrush at the closest person, which was Hiei, and hopped onstage.

Hiei looked at the brush and threw it at Ash.

"YOU need it." Hiei commented.

"Thanks!" Ash yelled.

Ari's opponant took one look at her, and stopped.

"What?" Ari snapped.

"..." There was nothing to say.

Ari turned to her friends. "Do I look THAT bad?"

"Yes." Arika said.

"What's wrong w/ me...?" Ari asked.

"Hehe..." Arika laughed.

"Ash?" Ari asked. "Toss me your compact mirror..."

Ash did and Ari opened it and gasped.

"AH!" Ari shreked. "Oh, no!"


	25. Chapter 25 Problems, and embarrassment

"WHAT did you do to me?" Ari asked Hiei, after her match.

"Nothing." Hiei said, smirking.

"Aw, forget it!" Ari yelled. "It's done." Ari ran to her room and cleaned the POUNDS of makeup off her face.

Ari hid in her room for the rest of the day, taking care of Shadow. Petting Shadow, talking to her, brushing her, and mostly spoiling her.

"Are you coming out, yet?" Hiei yelled.

"NO!" Ari said. "Forget that, I'm staying in here the rest of my LIFE!"

"What about the tournament?" Hiei asked.

"The girls can win without me." Came the muffled reply on the other side of the door.

"ARI! Stop being a baka and let me in!" Hiei snarled. "Or, better yet, come out!"

"NO!" Ari yelled. "Everyone saw that!"

Hiei stormed off, and Ari slept in peace for awhile. Soon after, there was a pounding of the door.

"Ari!" Hiei snarled. "It's been an hour! Let me in, or I'll get in on my own!"

"No, DON'T!" Ari yelled. "I'M...UH...DRESSING!"

"YOU ARE NOT!" Hiei yelled.

"DON'T COME IN! I'M NOT APPROPRIATE!" Ari yelled.

"YEAH, RIGHT!" Hiei snarled. "YOU CAN'T TAKE YOUR CLOAK OFF, REMEMBER!"

"Ooo." Ari looked around. She hid in the bedroom in their room, and locked the door.

She heard the door open and footsteps.

She heard Hiei's voice again, "Your dream last night wasn't appropriate either, but you let me know all about it."

Ari opened the door and layed down again. Hiei stormed in, eyes blazing.

Ari rolled towards the wall, ignoring him. Ari fell asleep fast. Hiei layed down too, and went to sleep too.

The next morning, Ari woke up long before Hiei. She got up. She made sure Hiei was asleep and decided that it would be OK to just get dressed since he was asleep.

She changed her jeans and went to the bathroom to try to clean herself, but the cloak wouldn't come off still. So she cleaned what she could and left the bathroom.

Hiei was still asleep, and Ari refused to leave her room, so she layed back down, thinking. Was there any way to remove the cloak? The cloak had fused with her skin just as it's energy had fused with her own energy. Maybe if she separated her own energy from the energy the cloak had supplied her with.

Wait...That was it! Separate her energy from the cloaks' energy! Ari sat up and concentrated. She slowly wound through her supply of energy, separating her supply of energy from that which the cloak had given her. She couldn't hurry up, because the path through her energy was a slow and intricate path. She slowly wound her way through, picking at her energy, separating it and...as she tugged on the cloak, it slipped right off.

Meanwhile, Hiei across the room, started to wake up for the day. He opened his eyes, rolled over and...froze. He blinked. Nope, still there. Ari had found a way to remove her cloak, and her undershirt left very little to the imagination. Hiei blinked again, to make sure what he was seeing was really what he was seeing. Yup. He tried to gather his dignity and look away, but couldn't. Ari celebrated.

"I did it!" Ari cheered. "Yay!...Wait, I don't have anything else to put on."

Ari puzzled over this a minute. She sighed. She turned towards the bed, turning her back to Hiei.

Hiei watched her. She had short cat hair on the back of her arms, up to her shoulders. He wondered if it covered her entire back.

(Enough.) He thought. He rolled over and closed his eyes. Ari turned and looked at him.

(He appears asleep...) Ari thought. (Oh, well.)

Ari sighed. She had no other choice. She slipped the cloak on, and felt the painful surge of power again.

"Oof." Commented Ari.

Hiei, then 'woke up'.

"Hm?" Hiei asked, frowning.

"Oh, Hiei!" Ari whirled on him. "I figured out how to take my cloak off!"

"Really?" Hiei asked, innocently.

"Yeah!" Ari grinned.

"Why'd you put it back on?" Hiei asked.

"Oh..." Ari frowned. "I had, like a nightshirt on underneath and didn't want anyone to see my night clothes."

"Oh..." Hiei said. He wasn't even gonna say anything to her about it.

"I've gotta go talk to Chetara." Ari grinned, then frowned. "No, I can't. Never mind. I'm still not leaving."

"Grr..." Said Hiei.

"No." Ari stuck her nose in the air. "Will you go get her for me?" Ari looked at him.

Hiei felt uncomfortable before, but now it was increased because he felt embarrassed.

"Fine..." Hiei got up and got Chetara.

"She wants you to talk to her." Hiei growled, then walked off.


	26. Chapter 26 Clothing problems and peeking

Ash, Arika, and Chetara knocked on the door.

"Come on in, guys."

They walked in.

"Where were you yesterday?" Arika yelled.

"Here," Ari frowned. "I am not leaving. But, I have good news!"

"You saved a bunch of money on your car insurance by switching to Geico?" Arika asked. Ari fixed her with a look.

"No..." Growled Ari. "I figured out how to take my cloak off now."

"Really?" Chetara studied her. That was news to her.

"Yup," Ari smiled. "Separate your energy from the energy the necklace gave you. Then you can take it off."

"Oh," Chetara said. "I don't really want to take it off though."

"Oh, well, ok then. I do." Ari frowned.

"And by the way," Ash thought of something. "If this works, how come your cloak's still on?"

"I had to put it back on." Ari said.

"uh...Why?" Chetara asked.

"Wellll..." Ari frowned. "I'll show you."

She slowly wound through her supply of energy, separating her supply of energy from that which the cloak had given her. She couldn't hurry up, because the path through her energy was a slow and intricate path. She slowly wound her way through, picking at her energy, separating it and...as she tugged on the cloak, it slipped right off.

"Oh..." Arika said. "That's why..."

Ari looked at herself. Ash and Chetara frowned.

"I need my clothes. The ones in the human world, but I can't leave here, and you guys need to fight in this tournament." Ari frowned.

"Why don't you just go and get them?" Arika yelled.

Ari sighed. There was a knocking on the door, and the boys just burst in. All of them, with the exception of Hiei. Shadow growled and attacked them.

"Ah!" Ari dove under the covers.

"You got the cloak off!" Koenma yelled. "Terrific! I need that back."

The boys turned red, because what they'd seen was embarrassing.

"She needs it," Arika said. "What she wore under it is not fit to be seen."

"What? Why?" Koenma yelled.

"It's skimpy, and a boys muscle shirt," Ash explained. "It leaves almost nothing to the imagination, so she needs it."

"Ah." Koenma said. The boys turned crimson.

"I need my clothes from Ningenkai," Ari's words were muffled from under the covers.

"What?" Koenma asked.

"She needs her clothes from the Ningenkai." Ash translated.

"Oh." Koenma said.

"Or, at the very least, a more fitting shirt to wear until I can find something better." Came the muffled voice from under the covers.

"I still can't hear her." Koenma frowned.

"SHE SAID, SHE AT LEAST NEEDS A BETTER SHIRT TO WEAR UNTIL SHE CAN GET HER CLOTHES." Arika yelled.

"Oh," Koenma frowned. "Perhaps Botan has something."

"No." Ari's muffled voice said.

"hm?"

"NO!" Ari yelled.

"Well, what then?" Koenma yelled.

"There's a clothing store on Henson and Way Boulevard," Came Ari's muffled voice. "Go there. Chetara, you know what I like. Please?"

"Fine," Chetara sighed. "What about the tournament?"

"We can cover any slack," Ash and Arika were quick to agree. "Just hurry. And besides, it's not our fight for another hour."

Chetara nodded and took off for the clothing store. Before the boys left, Koenma grabbed Ari's cloak and took off with it, so Ari couldn't put it back on. The boys left and Ash and Arika stuck around for awhile.

"Girls, what about my clothes in Ningenkai?" Ari whined.

"We'll have to have Koenma have someone get them," Ash said. "Maybe Kuwabara's sister."

Soon after, Chetara came back.

"You were right, Ari. There was a clothing store there, and it was just the kind of store you'd like. I got you this outfit." Chetara tossed a black shirt and black jeans at Ari.

"Awesome!" Ari looked it over. "Thanks." Ari frowned.

Ari put on her new outfit. She frowned, and sighed.

"What's wrong NOW?" Arika asked.

"Nothing, it's ok. Do you think we could have someone get my sword from the Ningenkai too?" Ari asked.

"Yeah, just come on!" Chetara growled. "It's our fight."

"RIght..." Ari ran out the door, and bumped into Hiei.

"Sorry, Hiei." Ari said.

"...!" Hiei blinked. Her new shirt was better and more covering. It had identical slits on both sides with a string of leather holding it together. A/N: Awesome shirt... and Hey, what'd you expect from a neko? Of course we like string...

"Hm?" Ari frowned at Hiei. "What's up, Hiei?"

"Hn." Was all Hiei said, before he turned and left.

"What's up with short guy?" Arika asked.

"Hiei." Ari corrected her.

"Right. What's wrong with Hiei?" Arika asked.

"Don't know," Chetara said. "He's been acting weird lately."

"Yeah..." Ari said, frowning.

"Whatever his problem is, it involves Ari," Chetara grinned. "Hiei didn't really have a problem until he bumped into Ari."

"What about this morning when he came to get us?" Ask asked.

"I'm sure it must have been my fault somehow," Ari frowned. "He was acting kinda weird when he woke up this morning."

"Wait, did you take your cloak off in your guys' room this morning?" Chetara asked.

"Yeah, I did, but Hiei was asleep," Frowned Ari. "So that couldn't have been it."

"Maybe...Hiei woke up after you took it off, and was embarrassed, so he pretended to remain asleep until you put it back on." Chetara said, the faintest of a grin showing up on her face.

"No way!..." Ari disagreed, and then thought about it. "Maybe...but I doubt it."

"When did he wake up?" Chetara grinned.

"Um..." Ari frowned. "Right after I got the cloak back on."

"Right. I thought so." Grinned Chetara.

"Oooh. He was peeking on you, Ari." Laughed Arika.

"Hehe...Poor Ari." Ash grinned.

Ari blushed a second, before leaving and heading to the arena, ignoring them.


	27. Chapter 27 Death match and Kenji

Ari walked in, and the crowd cheered wildly. Even more so, when they saw what she was wearing.

"ARI!" The fans screamed fanatically.

Ari grinned and waved. The fans screamed even louder. Ari thought she saw a familiar set of ears...Kenji! Ari walked the length of bleachers slowly, so as not to call attention to herself. Too bad she was the object of the hour. Everyone looked at her. When she got near the end, she knew. It was Kenji.

(Hey, after my match, Kenji, stay. I need to talk to you a minute.) Ari said, unhappily.

Kenji blinked and his ears pulled back a little.

Ari walked to the stage. Koto looked at her. A second later the team burst in the door.

"We're here!" The girls yelled.

"Great. The first match is between Arika and Leion." Explained Koto.

Arika and Leion hopped onstage and started the match off.

"So..." Chetara teased Ari. "How are things? Have you talked to Hiei yet?"

"GRR." Was all Ari said. "Do you see him up there?" Ari pointed.

"Yeah, who's he...? Oh." Chetara said. "That's the neko guy who stood you up..."

"Yeah." Ari growled. "I told him to stick around awhile. I need to talk to him. And afterwards, I'm going to tell everyone how he stood up the neko princess. He will NEVER get another date in all of history!"

"Ouch." Chetara winced. "That's a bit harsh."

"No it's not. Standing me up is something he'll regret. It's his fault, so he'll suffer and regret it." Ari growled.

"Woah, maybe you should get his side of things before you ruin his life forever." Ash stepped in.

"Oh, I will. And then end his dating life, permanently." Ari growled. "I will make him suffer over that, now and forever."

"..." Chetara and Ash exchanged glances. Woo...Ari was beyond irate.

"And that's the end of match one. Winner, Arika Yume. Next up is Ariana Miyuki and Eren Tenek." Called Koto. Ari stormed onstage.

"Let's hurry this up." Growled Ari. "I'm not in the best of moods."

"You want me to hurry up and kill you?" Eren teased. "Well, ok." He pulled out his weapon.

"Aw, damn." Ari frowned. "Too bad my swords still in Ningenkai. Or there'd be a real show."

"Hm..." Eren frowned. He pulled out another sword. "Too bad I use two, or I'd give you one. I don't believe in helping my enemies, though."

"I guarantee you, in 34.54 seconds, I will have one of your swords in my hands." Grinned Ari. "Let's fight."

1.2.3.4.5...Ari dodged his first swing, and kicked him in the stomach.

6.7.8.9.10...He recovered and swung at Ari again.

11.12...Ari ducked and lost her footing.

13.14.15.16.17...Ari rolled out of the way of a swinging katana.

18.19.20...Ari jumped up, and narrowly missed his blades once again.

21.22.23.24... Ari called out, "Janken!" And up rose Kuro.

25.26.27.28.29.30...Kuro dodged Eren's attacks, and threw him off.

31.32.33...Ari ran up behind him and...

34...and 1/2. Ari landed on the other side of the stage.

"I win." Grinned Ari. "Let's fight for real now." Brandishing her new sword, Ari grinned at him.

"Not bad..."

"Thanks." Ari grinned. "Let's do it this way. A straight sword duel. We run at each other and whoever kills whoever first wins. Ok?"

"Deal."

"ARI!" Chetara yelled. "What are you doing?"

Ari ignored her. "On the count of three..."

"One...Two...three!" Ari and Eren ran at each other. The next thing anyone saw was Eren split in half, his guts spilt all over the ground.

What happened in slow motion: Ari and Eren ran at each other and Eren opted to swing for the head. Ari, seeing it coming, ducked and slid her sword across his exposed stomach.

"I win." Ari dropped his sword and spit on his remains. "I'm done here."

Ari hopped offstage. She walked over to Chetara, nodded at her, looked at Kenji, and left.

The girls watched her go. They didn't even want to comment on Ari's last match.

Ari, after leaving the arena, didn't know what to do with herself. She stood around and waited for Kenji to show up. She was going to chew him out good when she saw him. There was no end to her rage. Soon, Ari saw those familiar ears.

"Hello Ari..." Kenji souned scared.

(And he should be.) Ari thought. (I'm going to make him suffer.)

"WHY did you say you were going to come, and then never show up!" Ari yelled/growled.

Kenji shuffled his feet. "Well...Your boyfriend saw me and he threatened me. I didn't do anything wrong, you were the one who didn't tell me you had a boyfriend."

Ari froze. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Well, some guy threatened me saying, that he would rip my intestines out and strangle me with them if he ever saw me around you again." Kenji studied the ground.

"I wouldn't know who that'd be." Ari frowned.

"He was kinda short." Kenji said.

Ari froze again. Short?

"And he had black hair, with a white starburst in it." Kenji studied his feet.

"No way..." Breathed Ari. Then she got her voice. "There's no way. Hiei doesn't even like me. It's sad that you have to use Hiei as an excuse for standing me up. You're even more pathetic than I originally thought." Ari growled.

"What?" Kenji asked, stunned.

"Yeah, good bye." Ari growled, and walked away, leaving a stunned Kenji.


	28. Chapter 28 Ouch, my organs!

Later, Ari met up with her friends. She was in a horrible mood. She was fit to be tied. Beyond furious.

"What's up, Ari?" Chetara asked.

"Kenji." Ari hissed.

"What'd he do?"

"The little rat." Ari growled. "Tried to use Hiei as an excuse for standing me up."

"Hiei?" Chetara asked.

"What?" Ash asked.

"Why Hiei?" Arika asked.

"I don't know!" Ari growled. "Worthless mouse lover."

Chetara raised her eyebrows and exchanged glances with Ash and Arika. To a neko, that obviously was an insult.

"Well...uh..." Chetara tried to steer Ari back to the subject. "What did he say, Ari?"

"He said that Hiei scared him off by threatening him. Why would Hiei want to do that? Why would he care?" Ari growled.

"Hiei threatened Kenji?" Chetara asked.

"That's what Kenji said, but I doubt it." Growled Ari.

Chetara blinked. Hiei threatened Kenji, according to Kenji. Why would Kenji lie about something like that? Why would Hiei do something like that? Why...unless...!

"Ask Hiei." Chetara grinned. "That's the only way you'll know."

"I am not asking Hiei." Ari growled. "He didn't do it, and..."

"Maybe he did, because he likes you." Chetara teased.

"Hiei does not." Ari growled. She turned at looked at Hiei, who turned his head, like he wasn't looking at her.

"See?" Arika teased. "He was lookin' at ya, Ari."

"You two are a match made in heaven." Commented Ash.

"He did not. We are not." Ari growled, but was beginning to lose the arguement.

"Whatever you say..." Arika teased.

Later that night, in their room, Ari was sitting there bored. Hiei wasn't there. Kuro was there, watching her. Ari turned cat, and streaked around the room, playing with invisible objects. She played with Shadow on an equal level. She dashed for the door, stopped and whipped around. The door flew open and someone heaved a boot into Ari's side, hard. Several somethings cracked. Ari yowled loudly and ran for the wall. She climbed the wall and found refuge near the ceiling.

"Ooops!" Hiei said.

"MEow..." Ari whined, pathetically.

"Ari!" Hiei called. "Come down. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Meow..." Whined the pathetic cat who was stuck.

Hiei sighed and got her down. When he grabbed her, Ari dug her claws into Hiei.

"OUCH." Hiei said, through gritted teeth. Ari meowed at him, still pathetically.

Hiei put her on her bed, and Ari layed down, meowing at everything that would listen. She was in pain. Hiei began to scratch her ears and the cat began to quiet down. Eventually, she stopped long enough to purr. She began to purr happily at Hiei. Hiei sighed. Ari was so...

Soon, the purring grew deeper. A lot deeper. Hiei looked and Ari, in her full demon form, was purring at him. He was still scratching her ear. He removed his hand.

"Better now?"

"It hurts..." Ari whined, holding her side.

Hiei frowned. He hadn't meant to kick her.

"How bad is it?" Hiei asked.

"Not as bad as getting my Jagan, but still alot." Ari said, closing her eyes. Through the slit in her clothes, Hiei saw a big greenish bruise. Oops. All his fault.

Ari opened her eyes and saw Hiei looking at her bruise. She hadn't even seen it yet. She sat up and gasped.

"My organs feel like they've been put under a meat tenderizer." Ari groaned. "Cannibals, come! Hiei has produced a tasty meal for you. A nice and tender set of organs..."

"Ari." Hiei growled.

"Sorry, I'm trying to lighten the mood." Ari coughed. She stood up and walked/limped to the bathroom. She looked at her enormous bruise in the mirror. Ah, what a marvelous specimen. It was about the size of Kuwabara's ego and twice the shade of green. It was slowly turning brownish blackish blue.

Hiei walked in and saw her inspecting it.

"What do you think?"

"The blue pineapples. They fly." Ari commented, dryly.

"Ari. I meant about your bruise."

"Oh, that. Yeah, it's a bruise all right." Ari smirked.

"Seriously." Hiei growled.

"Oh, ok. It doesn't hurt anymore. And it really doesn't matter, considering it'll be there for a few weeks." Ari said. Hiei growled.

"Anyway, I've gotta go. I have a reputation to ruin." Ari said, proudly.

"Whose?"

"Kenji's. The little rat stood me up and then used you as an excuse. Can you believe that? He said you threatened him." Ari laughed.

This was the turning point. Hiei could just not say anything, and she would ruin Kenji's life, or Hiei could tell her, and risk rejection. He chose for her to ruin Kenji's life.

"Well, see ya." Ari waved at him and started to walk out the door.


	29. Chapter 29 The invitation and bruised

Wait!" Hiei yelled.

Ari stopped and turned around. "Hm?"

"You shouldn't be walking around so soon after getting that bruise." Hiei stalled. "You'll mix the broken blood vessels with the unbroken ones and there'll be trouble."

"What are you talking about?" Ari asked, with a raised eyebrow. "I'm Ari, remember? I'm the one who, after a day of getting her Jagan, went outside to train in the woods to get stronger."

"I KNOW who you are." Hiei growled. "What I said was, you shouldn't, and will not, be walking around so soon after getting that bruise."

"And I said I will." Ari said, in a snobby way, sticking her nose in the air.

"And I will make sure you won't." Growled Hiei. "If I have to make you stay here, I will."

"Is that an invitation?" Ari asked, smirking.

Hiei raised an eyebrow at her.

"Have you been talking to Youko? I mean, any more than usual?"

"No." Ari grinned. "Just...Arika, Chetara, and Ash. Why?"

"Nothing. Never mind." Hiei shook his head.

"Hm." Ari thought a minute. "I'm going to go now."

"If it was an invitation..." Hiei blurted. Ari stopped. "You wouldn't be able to take it, because of your injury."

"That depends." Ari smiled/smirked. A/N: She's turning into Youko! NOOO...

"Uh..." Hiei studied the ceiling. "Uh, well..." Hiei frowned, and tried to think of a reason for her to stay.

"Ah, never mind." Ari sighed, then grinned. "It probably wasn't an invitation anyway. You wouldn't know how to give one. And other than that, you'd be unable to follow up on it."

"Says who?" Now Hiei got defensive. "If it was an invitation, what would you do about it?"

"This." Ari grinned. She stepped forward and, stopping Hiei cold, kissed him deeply. When she was done, she grinned at him. "Because I'm injured, that's all I can do. Gomen..." Ari turned and attempted to leave again.

"Wait!" Hiei called. "You should stay here. You're injured and it's not healthy for an injured person to run around. You'll make the injury worse."

Ari frowned and lifted her shirt high enough to study her enormous bruise. Hiei saw her do it and blushed far redder than imagined. He turned and looked the other way. Ari saw him look the other way, embarrassed.

Ari dropped her shirt and nodded.

"I guess I'll stay then, Hiei." Ari sighed. "If it bothers you that much..."

"It does." Hiei agreed, risking a glance her way.

Ari walked over to the bed and layed down. Hiei walked over to his bed and layed down, watching her. He started to read her thoughts, to see if she was going to try to leave. But he quickly stopped, because he kinda didn't like what he saw. Just a little...

Ari soon fell asleep with Shadow by her side, and Hiei was left unable to sleep from the events that occured just a few minutes ago.


	30. Chapter 30 Fighting lilacs, and shampoo

Meanwhile, Chetara was enjoying what was happening where she was. She was having another one of her long conversations with Kurama, and he was trying to...ahem... break up a fight between two lilacs.

"Now, it's not her fault." Kurama mediated. "She didn't mean it like that..."

Chetara raised her eyebrows, watching him.

"..." Chetara watched.

"Relax, now. Oh, Chetara, I got that shampoo you and Ari were wanting."

"How'd you make it in two days? You said you'd need three." Chetara asked.

"I had help." Kurama smiled. "Hold on. Girls, let's not fight over it."

"..."

"Be right back. Girls, stop, please." Kurama said with his little look of annoyance he gets. He left into another room.

"..." Chetara looked at the flowers. They seemed peaceful enough...

"Ok, here." Kurama tossed two bottles of shampoo at Chetara, who caught and looked at them a bit suspiciously.

She opened one of the bottles and inspected the contents. She smelled one of the bottles. Kurama noticed the gesture.

"I didn't spike it or anything." --' Kurama said.

"Smells good..." Muttered Chetara, trying to save face.

"Yeah..." Kurama frowned.

"Um..." Chetara frowned. "I'm...going to go take this to Ari..."

Kurama nodded, and pulled the two flowers apart. Chetara noticed they'd come together with a vengence. Maybe Kurama wasn't so crazy. She backed out of the room, and realized she'd forgotten Ari's bottle of shampoo. She ran in and grabbed it.

"Forgot this." Chetara commented.

"I was wondering when you were going to notice." Kurama smiled.

"Yeah. See ya later." Chetara took off. She got to Ari's room and knocked. She heard Ari getting up. And...it sounded like she was limping. She heard Hiei growl, "Sit down." Then a thump and Hiei opened the door.

"Hn." Was Hiei's greeting to cracking the door.

"Nice to see you too. Can I come in?"

"What do you want?"

"I want to see Ari."

"Why?"

"Why's it matter?"

"Hn. It just does. What else do you want? Kitsune freaking you out?"

"His plants attacked each other!"

"They do that. They're worse than we are when it comes to fights. They'll be best friends in 2 hours."

"Kurama didn't let them finish the fight. Can I come in NOW?"

"No."

"I have something for her. And I want to talk to her. Are you screening her visitors or what?"

"What are you bringing her?"

"You think I'm smuggling catnip?"

"Don't know. If Kitsune gave it to you..."

"He did. Let me in."

Ari said, "Hey. Let her in."

Hiei growled.

"Let me in."

"Hn. Fine." Hiei let her in.

"Hi!" Ari said.

"Hi." Chetara said. "Here. Careful, Kurama's on something."

"What?" Ari asked. She tried to catch the bottle, but it hit her in the side. She gasped loudly.

"Watch it!" Hiei growled.

"What's going on?" Chetara asked.

Hiei growled.

"Um...small accident." Ari explained. She lifted her shirt to show Chetara her new injury. Hiei turned and looked the other way.

"What happened?"

"Hiei kicked me."

Hiei growled. "Now tell her the whole story."

"Oh, right. That. I was in cat form and in front of the door, and Hiei came in and kicked me on accident with the force of 10 sledgehammers." Ari said, frowning. "Seriously. My guts are now tender enough to eat cuz he just knocked the crap out of them."

"...No comments."

"Ah. Ok." Ari nodded. "Isn't my bruise awesome? It's huge and purple and green and yellow."

"So's that purple dinosaur thingy you watch.But he's not cool either."

"SHH!" Ari said, frantically. "Don't tell anyone else that! And besides, I haven't watched him in years."

"Right..."

Hiei raised an eyebrow. Hiei peeked around and then looked back at the wall.

"Ok." Ari sighed, and dropped her shirt. "I guess you can look now. What is this stuff anyway?" Ari asked about the bottle Chetara had tossed at her.

"It's that shampoo Kurama was talking about."

"Oh, cool." Ari looked at Hiei. "I don't think he'll let me get up to try and use it, though."

"He's that protective?"

"He said something about the broken blood cells mixing with the unbroken ones, or something. He told me to stop moving. I was going to go ruin Kenji, but he started yelling about blood cells."

Hiei growled.

"I don't think he knows what he's talking about."

"Me either, but he won't let me leave. He said that since I'm injured..." Ari started to say, but Hiei growled REALLY loudly, so Ari shut up.

"Blood cells can't get broken."

"I said, vessels." Hiei said.

"Well, they can't mix."

"Who are you now? Kitsune?" Growled Hiei. "I'm leaving now. Don't let her leave." Hiei then left.


	31. Chapter 31 Hospital, and furious Kurama

Ari stood up. "I'm going to try this stuff now that Hiei's gone." She grabbed the shampoo. "By the way...What about my ribs? I don't seem to have any after Hiei kicked me."

"Let's go to Ningenkai and get an x-ray." Chetara said.

"Uh-uh. Hiei said no. I am not leaving." Ari said.

"SO? I'll drag you there with Ash and Arika helping." Chetara grinned.

"And Hiei will kill you. And me. Mostly you. I'm not going." Ari said. "But gosh, does my side hurt. And the lack of ribs seems to be suspicious."

Chetara pulled out her cell phone and dialed Ash.

"Hey, guys, get down here to Ari's room. I think she broke, like, 8 ribs."

"8?" Ash yelled.

"Yeah. Get Arika." Chetara said. "Ooh. Be careful. Hiei doesn't want her to move at all. If he finds out what we're doing..."

"Oh. Ok. We'll be there. Should we get those guys with the exception of Hiei to come?"

"Just have them stall Hiei long as possible."

"Kay." Ash hung up.

"Chetara! You can't! We have to stop!" Ari yelled. "It's not that bad. Really."

Chetara poked one of Ari's...um...organs, and Ari supressed a scream and bit her tongue.

"STOP IT." Ari growled through clinched teeth.

"It's bad." Chetara said. "You're going."

The girls run in with Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Koenma.

"Hi, Ari!" Ash said.

"Hi!" Ari said. "Hi!"

"How bad is it?" Kurama asked. "Show us."

Chetara poked Ari's side, who writhed in pain and bit her tongue again. She also hit Chetara once.

"Hey." Chetara got far enough away to be safe.

"It's very bad." --' Kurama said. "Why doesn't Hiei want her to go to the human world doctor?"

"No idea." Chetara said.

"He doesn't want me to get hurt worse." Ari chirped. "That's why I'm not going."

"Yes you are." Chetara growled.

"We'll see." Grinned Ari. "If I get Hiei in here, we'll see who's going and who's not."

"Forget Hiei." Koenma said. "If he hurts anyone here, I'll have him imprisoned for 300 years."

"Good, now, you guys have to distract him." Chetara said.

"I'll do it." Kurama said, nodding. "You'd better hurry, though."

Koenma made them a portal and Kurama set out to find Hiei. The girls grabbed Ari and carried the protesting neko off.

Kurama soon found Hiei.

"Hello, Hiei." Kurama greeted him.

"Hn."

"..." Kurama was silent, thinking of a distraction.

"Chetara didn't leave Ari's room, did she?" Hiei growled. "Because I told her not to."

"No, Hiei." Kurama said. "She hasn't left yet."

"Good."

"..."

"..."

"Why can't she leave Ari's room?" Kurama asked.

"Why does it matter?" Snapped Hiei.

"I suppose it doesn't." Kurama sighed. "Did Ari get her shampoo I gave Chetara?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"What happened to Ari?" Kurama asked.

"I kicked her."

"Ah." Kurama said, with mild surprise.

"It was an accident." Hiei growled.

"I'm sure it was." Kurama agreed.

"..."

"Is that it? Really?"

"No." Hiei frowned. He pulled out his sword and demolished a nearby tree.

"What happened?"

"Like I said, I kicked her. End of story."

"...You said there was more and...why did you hurt that tree?"

"Because." Hiei growled.

"Poor tree." Kurama said. He walked over and supplied it with some of his energy to try and repair the demolished tree.

"..."

The tree was dead, though.

"Hiei!" Kurama whined. "You KILLED it."

"Hn. Kitsune, there's hundreds of trees around here. Get over it."

"I know, but it's dead now." Kurama whined.

"So? Use your energy to grow a new one if it's that important, Kitsune."

Kurama frowned.

"First off, Hiei, to make it even close to that size, it'll take months. And second, that's not the point! Plants know and feel just like us. They have personalities and souls and you KILLED it, Hiei."

"..." Hiei raised an eyebrow. "Plants have souls? They get judged?"

"No they don't but they have as close as it comes to having souls." Kurama said.

"Personalities?"

"I should make you a plant elemental energy for one week, Hiei." Kurama growled. "Maybe then you'd understand. You'd be breaking up the fights and taking care of 50-60 plants that act like immature children."

Hiei stared at Kurama, who was very upset over a tree.

"You can do that?"


	32. Chapter 32 Ningenkai, potion, Daphne

Chetara and the girls dragged Ari into Ari and Chetara's human world home, where they were sisters.

Just before they did, they all turned into their human forms.

"Girls!" Their mother breathed. "We've missed you SO much. Where have you girls been?"

"Around, mother." Ari breathed. "Can you call an ambulance? A few ribs punctured the skin when you started carrying me."

"A FEW?" Chetara asked. Sure enough, a few of the ribs had broken through the skin.

Last thing Ari remembered seeing was her human mother calling 911.

---------------------------------------------------

Chetara frowned.

"Hello, 911? My daughter has broken some of her ribs and we need an ambulance over here...yes. The address is 3456 Mareume Drive in..."

Chetara looked at Ari. Ari...wait, Ari just passed out. (She must've started hurting when we started carrying her.)

Chetara thought.

"Hey, look she passed out!" Arika pointed out.

"Hm." Ash watched Ari.

After 15 minutes, the ambulance arrived to look at Ari.

"WOAH." The ambulance people said. "WHat happened to her? This is unheard of. She...is she...alive?"

"YEAH she's alive!" Chetara snapped. "Car accident."The ambulance people carried her to the ambulance and took Ari to the hospital.

---------------------------------------------------

"Yeah, and I will do it too." Kurama growled. "I'll show you what it's like for one week. Come on."

Hiei followed him to Kurama's room where he dug around muttering. Kurama pulled out a bottle of green-ish liquid.

"Drink this, Hiei." Kurama frowned. "The effects will wear off in a week. If you don't drink it, we will MAKE you drink it."

Hiei nodded, gulping. He put the bottle to his lips and drank it slowly. He HAD to obey Kurama. A/N: Youko is quite a bit stronger than him. That night Hiei attacked Youko, Youko thought it was Hiei's shadow.

"By the way Hiei, I forgot to mention that the potion you just drank will also knock you out for, at the very least, 6 hours." Kurama smiled.

"WHAT? KURAMA!" Hiei yelled. Hiei tried to run at him, but suddenly got really tired and dizzy.

Kurama grinned at him. "Good night, Hiei."

Hiei barely had enough energy to fall onto the bed before he fell asleep.

--------------------------------------------------

Chetara frowned. Ari was in surgery, because her injuries were so bad. Ari wouldn't be able to do any exercise for a few months, they said. They were surprised Ari had even survived the accident. They didn't know about Youkai, obviously.

Chetara wondered how Kurama was distracting Hiei and if Kurama was doing a good job. She wondered how long Kurama could distract Hiei.

(He'll think of something.) Chetara smiled.

---------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Hiei woke up slowly, feeling exausted. He felt ill and the energy coursing through his veins was not his own.

(KITSUNE.) Hiei thought with a vengence. Then he heard it. What was that?

"Hey, psst! That guy's up now." One of the daffodils whispered.

"Yeah, I know." The other one whispered back, then giggled. "If he were a daffodil like us, I would be all over him."

Hiei blinked. (NO WAY. I am hallocinating after that stuff Kurama gave me last night...)

"Girls." One of the lilies repremanded. "Don't you remember what Shuichi said? He said that guy can hear us now, and will be able to hear and understand us for a week, remember?"

"Oh..." The daffodil said. She sounded embarrassed. "Hello, there! My name's Daphne."

Hiei blinked. (This isn't happening. This CANNOT be real.)

"Are you sure, Ane?" Daphne said.

"Yeah. Shuichi said he'll act like he can't hear us but he really can." Ane said.

"Shut up." Hiei growled. The flowers wilted noticeably.

"You don't like us?" Daphne asked, sadly.

"It's not that. I just like to be left alone." Hiei growled.

Daphne perked up then. "You DO like us then? Yay!"

Hiei growled and left the room. He COULD NOT continue talking to those flowers. He went to the arena where he saw Kurama.

"KITSUNE." Hiei growled.

"Hello, Hiei." Kurama smiled.

"Fix this, kitsune. NOW. I can't even walk past a potted plant without having to talk to them about something ignorant. Like, I had to tell one who was competing in today's match and promise him that I'd tell them who wins." Hiei growled.

Kurama chuckled. "Oh, I know them. That's the one by the entrance of our room, right?"

"Kitsune." Hiei growled.

"Hiei." Kurama frowned. "I am not pardoning you from your sentence. You upset us and now you must serve your sentence."

Hiei growled, then looked around. Kurama began to panic a second.

"Where are the girls?"

"They aren't competing until later." Kurama replied calmly.

Hiei frowned.

"I'm going to go check on Ari. Chetara must have slept in my room since I had to sleep in yours."

"Uh...Hiei!" Kurama called.

"Is that his name?" One of the flowers whispered to one another. "Hiei?"

"I guess. He's REALLY cute, isn't he?"

"Very." The other one said. "But Shuichi (here her voice dropped really low) is cuter."

"By much." The other one whispered.

"Girls. Stop flirting with those Youkai."

"Right, ok." One of them giggled.

"GRR." Hiei growled. 10 more minutes of this and he'd be ripping his own hair out. "Kitsune..."

Kurama smiled politely.

Hiei growled.

"I believe it's your fight." Kurama smiled.

"I hope it's a plant Youkai." Hiei growled.

"..."


	33. Chapter 33 Ningenkai and drugged fantasy

Hiei jumped onstage. He killed his opponant and jumped off. (Maybe...15 seconds)

"I'm going now." Hiei turned and started to leave.

"WAIT!" Kurama called. "Ari's in Ningenkai!"

Hiei froze. "WHAT?"

"The girls took her to Ningenkai last night. She's in the hospital. I think Chetara said she's having surgery."

"..." Kurama watched Hiei. A split second later, Hiei disappeared. Kurama didn't blink or anything. He just disappeared into thin air. Hiei had never moved that fast before. EVER.

On the other side of the arena, the girl called Icicle yawned. She heard voices talking about...she thought she heard the name Ari. She walked over there.

"Excuse me?" Icicle frowned. "Did I hear you say Ari?"

"Oh, you know her?" Kurama asked. "Yes, we were."

"What happened to her?" Icicle asked.

"She broke a bunch of her ribs and is at a Ningenkai doctor." Kurama said. "How do you know her?"

"I met her the other day. I, myself, almost killed her." Icicle smirked. "It seems after I spared her, she went and got herself hurt somewhere else."

"Someone kicked her and broke 10-12 of her ribs..." Koenma filled in. "And by the way, who are you?"

"I am Icicle. Actually, Dark Icicle, but I'm just called Icicle."

"Oh, ok." Kurama nodded. "We're planning to go see her to make sure Hiei doesn't kill Ari or any of her friends. Would you like to join us?"

"Yes." Icicle smiled. "It's been a few days since I've seen her. I suppose it couldn't hurt, as I have nothing better to do."

----------------------------------------------

(Hm...How long is she going to be in there?) Chetara wondered. She heard Ari's, like, drug-induced stupor and wanted to laugh. Ari was so far out of it. What was funny was in her drug induced stupor, Ari was dreaming about being Hiei's mate. Chetara couldn't help but laugh. Ari was accidentally broadcasting her drug-induced stupor to the entire hospital. The way things were going in her drug-induced dreams/fantasies, Chetara could not stop laughing.

This was what Chetara saw in Ari's drug induced fantasy.

--------------------------------------------------

Ari sighed and stretched out. Suddenly, her son jumped on her, talking to her.

"Hi, mommy!" Her son, Artemis, said excitedly.

"Hello Artemis." Ari smiled. "Are you waiting up for daddy?"

"Yup!" Artemis said.

"Good, me too." Ari smiled.

"It'll be nice to see Hiei again. After all, we haven't seen Hiei for three months." Ari sighed. "We miss him, don't we, Artemis?"

"Yup." Artemis nodded. A/N: As a child he had perfected the art of evading bedtime but he also missed his father, too.

"Can you tell me a story?" Artemis asked.

"Sure, Artemis. There once was a really strong and brave boy called Artemis. He was the son of Hiei who was a great demon lord."

"Yay! Does he kill anybody?"

"Yup. A famous bandit by the name of Youko Kurama. But, are you going to let me tell it or not?"

"Yes, mommy."

"Ok, then. Artemis was walking through the forest when he came upon a 8 foot tall, silver haired Youkai." Ari said. "The youkai attacked Artemis but Artemis killed him with one stroke of his sword."

"Was there blood?"

"Yes."

"A lot of blood?"

"Yes."

"How'd I kill him?"

"You cut his head off."

"YEay! Was there that really cool shower of blood like when YOU cut people's heads off?"

"Yup."

"YAY!"

--------------------------------------------------

Chetara turned to Arika and Ash.

"Remind me that if Ari has kids, never to let her tell them a bedtime story." Chetara grinned.

"No kidding." Arika agreed. "What kind of stories did her parents tell her when she was a kid?"

"No idea, but she was the same way when our human mother told us stories." Chetara grinned.

-------------------------------------------------

Hiei ran through ningenkai at high speeds. He was looking for wherever they had put Ari. It wasn't that they'd took her, but it was more like, they snuck her out of Maikai. Not like he would have let them take her if they'd told him, but...

"HEY, GUY! Come here!" A nearby tree yelled.

"Huh?" Hiei turned to look, and slammed into a light post. WHAM

"YOU $# & $ #$#!" Hiei yelled. The tree gulped.

"NEXT TIME WATCH WHO THE $# YOU'RE TALKING TO!" Hiei yelled.

"I just wanted to know why you were in such a hurry." The tree whined.

"SHUT UP AND STOP TALKING TO ME!" Hiei yelled. The people around him looked scared. A/N: It sounded like he was talking to himself...

Hiei ran off, this time keeping a more close eye on where he was going.

------------------------------------------------

Chetara shook her head. "We need to ask them what kind of drugs they put her on."

"No kidding. I want some." Arika said, cheerfully.

"...?" Ash asked. "I don't know, they had to screw her up really badly to make her think that..."

"And it keeps going on." Chetara said. "And on and on and on."

"Yeah, that's trouble for us, because she won't quit broadcasting her fantasies." Arika said.

Ash frowned. "I can't even close my eyes."

"Us neither." The other girls chorused.

Then, suddenly, the images and voices just faded out. The vision was over.

"Huh." Chetara frowned.

"At least it's over." Ash breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, no kidding." Arika grinned. "Future blackmail."

"Yeah!" Ash grinned. "Do you think she'll believe us?"

"Yeah." Chetara grinned.

"Good." Ash grinned, then frowned. "Do you feel that? Is that...Hiei?"

"Yeah! Run!" Chetara yelled.

They run to the girls bathroom and barricade themselves in there just as Hiei burst into the hospital.

Hiei could feel them in the bathroom and ran over there and beat on the door.

"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" Hiei yelled. The girls heard him whisper, "They are in there, right?"

"Sshh..." Chetara said.

"YEAH! GET OUT HERE!" Hiei yelled.

"..."

"GET OUT HERE!" (GET OUT HERE!)

"Owwww!" Chetara yelled.

"I KNEW IT! GET OUT HERE!"

"HELL NO! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US!" Chetara yelled.

"FORGET IT! WE ARE STAYING THE HELL IN HERE!" Arika yelled.

"NOT LEAVING." Ash yelled.

"GRR!" Hiei growled. The doctor came out. Hiei saw him and approached him.

"Can you tell me about...?" Hiei growled. He didn't know her human name.

"Teane Tyeni!" Chetara called.

"Oh, yes, the miracle girl." The doctor laughed. "Her surgery's over and she's resting now. You'll be able to see her in 12 hours."

"12 hours...?" Hiei asked. He nodded. "What room would she be in?"

The doctor frowned. "346. And there was a group of girls here waiting for Miss Teane but..."

"They had to leave suddenly." Hiei frowned.

"Oh." The doctor nodded. "Well, if you'll excuse me..."

The doctor left. (346...) Hiei thought. Suddenly, he started seeing and hearing things. Strange things. VERY VERY strange.


	34. Chapter 34 Ari's fantasy, she's drugged

"Hiei!" Ari called.

Hiei looked up. He looked older. He dropped his sword and ran at Ari and...(IS THAT A KID?) Hiei panicked in reality.

"Is that...my daddy?"

Ari put the kid down, who ran frantically to Hiei, practically throttling him.

"Hello there." Hiei smiled.

"Hi, Daddy!" Artemis shrilled.

Hiei held the kid close. He smiled and laughed.

"You must be my son." Hiei smiled. A/N: Yeah, so what if Artemis is 3 months old? Hiei knew exactly what was going on since his birth. Why not his son?

"Yup!" Artemis smiled. Ari walked over and laughed.

"He's not shy." Ari smiled.

"Yeah, you raised him well without me..." Hiei frowned. (...! WHAT IS THIS!) Hiei panicked wildly.

"Yeah...Well, I won't have to raise him without you anymore, right?" Ari asked. "You're back for a LONG while this time, right? Please say you are, Hiei. I need to hear that my son will grow up with a father."

Hiei bit his lip. Ari was pleading.

"Yes, Ari. I am going to be here for a long time this time." Hiei nodded.

"Good, because you've missed everything." Ari sighed. "My labor, my...our...son beginning to grow up."

"I know..." Hiei sighed. He sounded sad.

"Mommy, can I stay up a little longer?" Artemis asked.

"Tsk tsk, Artemis." Ari teased. "What was our deal? You can stay up to meet your daddy but then you have to go to bed."

"Oh. Ok." Artemis frowned.

"Come on. Bedtime."

"Oh kay..." Artemis sighed. "Daddy'll be here tomorrow, right, Mommy?"

"Right, Artemis." Ari smiled. She picked Artemis up and put him over her shoulder. She faced Hiei and gave him a look that Hiei remembered as a seductive look. He grinned. Last time he'd seen that look, it'd been longer than 3 months ago. Ari took Artemis to bed. A/N: HEY! She is his mate! Get over it!

----------------------------------------------------

Hiei felt ill. (WHAT...was...that!)

"Hehehe..." Chetara laughed from the bathroom.

"YOU!" Hiei banged on the door. "WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT!"

"Ari's fantasy!" Chetara yelled. "She's drugged!"

BAM! The door was hit very very hard.

"Oops! Run!" Chetara yelled. Chetara scrambled up the heating vent and Ash and Arika jumped out the second floor window.

BLAM! The door was knocked down and Hiei saw Chetara scramble up into the heating vent.

Hiei ran over there and Chetara scrambled through the vent, taking care not to get stuck. Hiei hoisted himself into the heating vent and chased Chetara through the vent. Until...

Crack.Crrracckk...Boom. The bottom of the vent fell out from underneth Chetara. She fell hard with a thump. She jumped up and ran for one of the hospital rooms, hoping to hide in one of them.

Hiei jumped out of the vent and didn't see Chetara anywhere. He saw the room number and smirked.

"346." Hiei smirked. He pushed the door open and entered the room. Ari was lying there asleep, looking exaustedly drugged. Hiei sat down and waited for her to wake up. He hid in the shadows waiting for Ari to wake up.

Hiei frowned. Ari's fantasy was his nightmare. Chetara did have a point, though. Ari was drugged. Hiei heard a voice call out to him.

"H...help...me..." The bedside flowers called.

"What's wrong?"

"We...'re dieing..."

Hiei walked over to them and tried to expend his new plant energy to keep them alive. It worked. They laughed once they were feeling better.

"Thank you." The plants smiled.

"Mm-hmm." Hiei nodded. "I will take you guys with me. I know a certain kitsune who will plant you and take care of you all."

"Yay!" They cheered.


	35. Chapter 35 Make a move! and Mother

Hiei sat down, and continued to wait.

"Is she your girlfriend?" One of the flowers asked.

"No."

"You sound sad about that." One of the flowers frowned. "Do you want to be her boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Hiei frowned, and sighed. "I really do."

The flowers cheered. "That's the first step! Admitting it! Next thing next, you need to admit it to her."

"How on maikai do you expect me to do that?" Hiei growled.

"Hm..." The flowers began to think a minute. "When she wakes up, just...make a move. Once she is far along enough to understand who you are and who she is and that you are making a move. Just make a move!"

"WHAT?" Hiei blurted. "I can't DO that!"

"Why not?" The flowers asked.

"Well, first, I don't know what qualifies as a move, and second, what if she pushes me away or rejects me or my...move?" Hiei frowned.

"Once she's completely recovered from the effect from drugs, just kiss her!" The flowers giggled. "She won't turn away!"

"How do you know that?" Hiei growled.

"We just do. We're flowers! We just know this stuff." The flowers giggled.

Meanwhile, Chetara was hiding behind one of the curtains.

"He's spending too much time with Kurama..." Chetara frowned. She peeked out and...Hiei was holding a bouquet of flowers, and was talking to them like they were people.

"If she does, I swear I will make you into a salad!" Hiei growled.

"..." Chetara watched him yell at a bouquet of flowers.

Suddenly, a huge group of people burst through the door. Nurses and doctors alike. Hiei teleported behind a curtain. They ran lots of tests on Ari and found that...she'd relaxed. She had been tense and had an elevated heartbeat during her surgery. She was relaxed and seemed to be in a dreamlike state. An hour and a half later, they left. Hiei didn't come out, Chetara noticed. She peeked out and heard...zzz.

(HE FELL ASLEEP!) Chetara blinked, shocked. (AND THEY GAVE HER MORE DRUGS!)

Chetara crept out of the room and into the waiting room. Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Koenma, and...someone else was there. A girl.

"Chetara!" Kurama sighed. "There you are! We were worried that...Where are your friends?"

Chetara felt funny and also felt a dark mood coming on.

"Hiei chased them out of the building." Chetara frowned.

"And where's Ari?" The girl asked.

"Who are you?" Chetara asked.

"Icicle. Where is Ari?" Icicle asked.

"She's in room...346." Chetara frowned.

"How long until we are allowed visitation?" Koenma asked.

"12 hours. And you really. Really. Don't want to be here." Chetara frowned.

"Why?" Kurama asked.

"Hehe...Ari's drugged and with her brand new Jagan, she's broadcasting her fantasies." Chetara snickered.

"...O.o..." Was the response.

"And, Hiei was hiding out in her room and fell asleep in there, so you don't want to go in there." Chetara explained. "And Hiei was sitting in there having a conversation with a bouquet of flowers before he fell asleep."

"Ah." Everyone blinked. No one understood THAT but Kurama.

"Was the conversation relaxed or was Hiei mad at them and yelling and just furious?"

"It was relaxed...until Hiei threatened to make them into a salad." Chetara grinned.

"..." Kurama looked away, smirking.

"Hiei made Arika and Ash jump out a second story window." Chetara laughed. They heard running.

"Kiyume!" A woman called. Arika and Ash followed the woman.

"Hello mother." Chetara smiled.

Her mother throttled her.

"Sweetheart..." Her mother was crying. "How is Teane?"

"She's good, mother. We'll be able to see her in..." Chetara consulted a wall clock. "10 hours."

"..." Her mother tried to calm herself down. "The surgery was successful then, Kiyume?"

"Yes, mother." Chetara soothed.

Her mother let Chetara go. She looked around.

"Who are your friends, Kiyume?"

"I am Shuichi Minamino." Kurama smiled. He shook her hand.

"So polite. I like him, Kiyume." Her mother laughed. "I'm Kia. Please call me that."

Everyone nodded.

"Yusuke Urameshi." Yusuke grinned.

"Ah. Nice to meet you, Yusuke." Kia nodded.

"Kazuma Kuwabara."

"Nice to meet you, Kazuma." Kia was trying to be polite.

"I am Icicle." The girl smiled. "My friends all call me Icicle."

"Nice to meet you, Icicle."

"Koenma."

And same to you, Koen..."

Hiei walked into the waiting room. Chetara jumped, as did Arika and Ash.


	36. Chapter 36 Are they gay? And recovery

Kia saw her daughter and her friends jump simultanously. Kurama, Yusuke, Koenma and Kuwabara got a bit nervous and jumpy.

Hiei saw them and walked over.

"Hello, Hiei." Kurama greeted.

"Hn." Hiei studied the wall.

"How...is she?" Kurama prodded.

"Fine." Hiei growled. "Here." He shoved the flowers at Kurama.

"Huh?" Everyone asked.

"..." Hiei walked over to the chairs in the waiting room and sat.

Kurama listened a minute.

"Ah." He nodded. "I understand."

"Uh..." Kia frowned. "Kiyume...come here a second."

Chetara followed her mother to the other side of the waiting room.

"Are they...gay?" Kia asked. "Because..."

"AH!" Chetara shrieked. "MOM! NO!That's Teane's boyfriend!"

"REALLY?" Her mother was interested. "She has a boyfriend? What about..."

"..." (OOPS!)

"Which one?" Kia asked.

"Hiei." Chetara said, calmly.

"Which one is that?"

"That's the one who had the bouquet to begin with."

"Ah." Kia walked over to the group and Chetara followed. The glare from Hiei was sufficient to let her know that he still wanted to kill her. And he didn't even know what she'd just said!

Chetara tried to talk to the gang but noticed her mother kept sizing Hiei up. Like she was trying to see what Ari liked in him. The REAL trouble started when her mother started trying to talk to Hiei.

"Hello. I'm Kia."

"Hn." Hiei turned towards the wall, ignoring her.

"Who are you?"

"Hiei." He frowned. "Whose mother are you again?"

"Teane and Kiyume's mother." Kia smiled. Hiei had no idea who they were. He assumed that was Ari and Chetara, but it could also be Ash and Arika. Chetara walked up behind Kia.

"See, Hiei? This is my mother. And TEANE'S mother." Chetara pointed out. "By the way, you were the last one to see her. How is she after her surgery?"

Hiei was unsure. Either she was trying to help him, or she was using him to help herself...

"She's fine." Hiei frowned. "And how did you know that I saw her last?"

"Uhhh..." Chetara froze.

"Ordinarily, the doctors would see her last." Hiei raised an eyebrow.

"Right. I just figured that um..." Chetara was at a loss.

Kurama walked over there and sat down. So did everyone else. The doctor walked out.

"Where is the party for Teane Tyeni?" The doctor called out. All ten of them stood up and walked over there.

"Miss Teane is truly a miracle in herself." The doctor shook his head. "First that she even survived the accident is incredible. She had 8 broken ribs."

That got their attention.

"Then, the way the surgery went..." He shook his head. "She shouldn't be able to move or do ANYTHING for years. That is the extent of the damage. But, her wounds were healing up DURING surgery. And she is already moving around."

"Already?" Their mother asked.

"Yes. Very very unusual." The doctor frowned. "I've only seen anything like this once before. A patient came here and was on her deathbed. Critical condition and then...all at once, she was completely well."

Kurama frowned. "My mother."

"Was that your mother?" Doctor asked. "Yes, it was. I remember you. You are Shuichi Minamino, right?"

Kurama nodded.

"Can we get back to..." Hiei thought hard. "Teane?"

"Oh, right. Anyway, you all will be allowed to visit her in 5 hours. She still needs time to rest." Doctor sighed.

Hiei nodded, which surprised everyone. The doctor left. And Hiei turned for the door.

"Where are you going?" Chetara called.

"To see her." Hiei frowned. "She's in 346. I can find it."

"...!" Everyone blinked.

"Hiei!" Yusuke frowned. "What's up with you?"

Hiei stopped for a second. One second. Then, he kept walking. Out the door.


	37. Chapter 37 Numb, kiss, and ranting

Ari "woke up" , feeling extreme numbness. She couldn't feel her body. She fought her eyes open. She was...in a hospital bed.

"You up?" She heard a voice say faintly. She turned her head, an almost impossible feat and saw...Hiei.

"I...guess," Ari forced her lips to move.

"...? What?"

"I can't feel my body," Ari mumbled. "Just...numb."

"...hn."

"What's wrong with your energy, Hiei?" Ari murmured. "It doesn't feel right."

"One of Kitsune's tricks," Hiei growled.

"Oh," Ari sighed. "How long will it last?"

"One week."

"I'm sorry," Ari muttered, then chuckled. "I thought you were Kurama, at first."

"Grrr..."

"I'm sorry..."Ari sighed. She opened her eyes. She saw Hiei bent over her, looking her in the face. He brushed back her bangs and Ari saw her opening. But she couldn't hardly move. She tried to sit up and Hiei sat up in a hurry. He'd misread her intentions. Ari tried to pull herself to a sitting position.

"Lay down," Hiei growled.

"..." Ari stared at Hiei for a minute.

"What?" Hiei growled.

"..." Ari smiled. She leaned back and sighed.

"What?" Hiei asked.

"Nothing..." Ari sighed. "Really."

"What?" Hiei asked again.

Ari opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Why you here?" Ari asked.

"..." Hiei glared at her. "Why's it matter?"

"..." Ari thought a minute. "Why'd you pull away?"

"From what?" Hiei blushed.

"Kissing me." Ari smiled. "Why didn't you?"

"You're injured." Hiei frowned, blushing.

"Right..." Ari smiled. "I wasn't sure."

"...Hn." Hiei studied the wall. "I'm not supposed to be in here. I think I'll leave now."

"We were just starting to have fun." Ari said.

"..." Hiei looked at her. Was she serious?

"Sarcasm. Don't you love it?" Ari asked.

"..."

Ari experimented in lifting her arm.

"Whoo! Look, I can lift my arm!" Ari celebrated.

"..." Hiei shook his head. Ari tried to lift her other arm.

"Ooh, this one's harder. I can't feel either arm, though." Ari frowned. She concentrated and managed to lift it a few inches.

"Why can't you feel your arms?" Hiei asked.

"I think it was those drugs." Ari frowned and her arm went down and slammed into the bed. "Oops."

Hiei watched her try to lift her arms.

"Can't feel anything else either." Ari frowned. "If I hadn't opened my eyes, and you had kissed me, I wouldn't have felt it."

"...O.o..." Hiei blinked.

"Yeah, that would've sucked." Ari frowned. "How is everyone? Who's all out there?"

"Your human mother, Chetara, Ash, Arika, Kitsune, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Koenma, and some girl."

"Some girl?"

"Yeah. She's a blue-eyed blonde who calls herself Icicle..."

Ari blinked. "Why is Icicle out there?"

"No clue." Hiei blinked.

"And my mother's out there, you said?"

"Yes. She was talking to me." Hiei growled.

Ari laughed. "Oh, boy."

"She told me her name and asked me mine. Then she explained whose mother she is/was. Some people I don't really know. Chetara said that she was one of them and kind of explained the other one was you."

"Ah." Ari sighed.

"Kitsune changed my element into plant element." Hiei growled. "I'm a plant elemental now. I can't walk past a potted plant without having to talk to it. I'm stuck talking to these weeds for the next week."

"..."

"And I still have to kill Chetara, Arika, and Ash. Now, I have to hurt Kitsune as well. It was weird because the entire time since I accidentally kicked you, I haven't thought about anything else. I've been worried about you." Hiei blushed.

"..."

"Ari?" Hiei asked. She had fallen asleep. Hiei sighed, and snuck out of her room and back into the waiting room. Everyone was there, waiting.


	38. Chapter 38 Ari's awakening

Are you all mad at me or something? (cries) I went from 5-6 reviews to one! What did I do? I'm really sorry about not updating in forever, if that's what you want. An apology. Sorry...--''

* * *

"How is she, Hiei?" Kurama asked.

"Fine. She woke up for about 20 minutes." Hiei smirked.

"Then, she fell asleep. The drugs have a strange sort of effect on her. She couldn't hardly move because they made her numb." Hiei frowned.

The doctor walked in.

"You are permitted to visit Miss Teane." Doctor smiled. "But, no more than four at once. And be quiet, she's asleep."

Chetara stood up. And Ash, and Arika and her mother.

"We're going first. 15 minute limit." Chetara nodded.

They left. 15 minutes later, they came back.

"Mom wouldn't leave." Chetara sighed. "And Ari won't wake up."

Three more people went to go check on Ari and she still wouldn't wake up. (Yusuke, Koenma, Kuwabara...15 minutes pass...)

"Now, I'm going." Icicle announced.

"Me too." Kurama nodded.

Hiei stood up with them.

They all walked into the room and sat down. No one said anything. Ari's mother was crying loudly and everyone was just sort of staring off.

Ari woke up again. She opened her eyes. No one saw her open her eyes and she decided to freak everyone out.

"Boo!" Ari yelled.

Her mother jumped straight up and made contact with the wall, screaming, and Hiei jumped a few feet in the air, and Kurama jumped too, and Icicle screamed.

"TEANE!" Her mother yelled, cuffing Ari in the head.

"OUCH." Ari yelled. "Mother, you don't hit an injured person!"

"..." Hiei sighed.

Kurama blinked, and Icicle laughed.

"Don't EVER do that again, Teane!" Her mother yelled.

Ari laughed. "Sorry, mother."

Kurama cleared his throat. "How are you...Teane?"

"Good." Ari yawned. "I'm good...Mom, where's Kiyume?"

"She already left." Hiei said.

"I'll go get her!" Icicle offered.

"Would you? Thanks Icicle." Ari yawned.

Icicle left and Chetara returned.

---------------------------------------------------

"Hi, Kiyume!" Ari called. "What time is it?"

"6:55...why?"

"OOH! Turn on the radio, please!" Ari begged. "PLEASE PLEASE!"

"...?" Kurama and Hiei were confused.

"Oh, I forgot about your obsession..." Chetara groaned.

"I didn't, sweetheart." Kia smiled. "I recorded her for you."

"Yay! "Ari celebrated. "Kiyume, please, put her on! PLEASE. Mom, she won't do it. Will you?"

Kia nodded and walked over to the radio and put on Ari's favorite station. 101.5. It is a soft rock station.

Some guy was on there, talking about something stupid.

"And now, it's time for the nightly radio D.J..."

"YAY!" Ari screamed.

"Delilah!"

"You listen to Delilah?" Kurama asked, with a smile.

"Shh!" Ari said, scooting over to the radio.

"Every day..." Her mother sighed. "Faithfully."

"Hello, there. This is Delilah, on Soft Rock Station 101.5. I'm sure you've had a hard day, and I'm here to make it better. Whether you've met the man of your dreams, or had your dreams crushed, I'm here for you. I'm here to play love songs all night long."

Hiei raised an eyebrow. Kurama smiled. Chetara groaned.

"Hello, Delilah?" A person said.

"Yes, hello. I can hear the grin on your face." Delilah said. (Yes, Delilah is a real person and my favorite radio DJ. She's actually said all of that on the air before...) "What wonderful thing has happened to you to make you grin from ear to ear?"

"Well, the man of my dreams..."

Ari listened closely to the radio station. 2 minutes later Delilah said, "So, do you have a song you want me to play, or do you have one in mind?"

"Actually, yes. I want to hear..."

Ari listened. "YAY! I love this song!"

Hiei and Chetara groaned.

"I still don't see how she likes this stuff." Chetara groaned.

When the song was over...


	39. Chapter 39 Burn by Delilah, and kiss me

"Playing the songs to smooth out the rough edges in your life." Delilah smiled. "I hope you are having a good night and if you are tuning into us for the first time, I'm glad you're here. Even if you were being tricked into listening to these sappy love songs, I'm glad you're here."

Hiei, Kurama, and Chetara exchanged glances.

"Hand me the phone." Ari said.

"What?"

"Hand me the phone." Ari said. "I know Delilah's number by heart."

Kurama handed her the phone and Ari dialed the phone number. It was busy. She tried again and again. Busy. Busy. Busy...

"Hello there, this is Delilah."

"Hello, Delilah!"

"Ah, hello there." Delilah smiled.

"I love you so much and it's SOOO cool that I got ahold of you again." Ari sighed.

"Again?"

"My name is Teane Tyeni." Ari sighed.

"Oh, hello there, Teane." Delilah smiled. (Ari had only called about a thousand times.) "I just heard some interesting news conserning you..."

"Oh, yeah. I was in a car accident and I just got out of surgery." Ari grinned. "It's SO great to be talking to you again."

"Same here, Teane. Hold on, we're going to put you on the air..."

"Hello, there, this is Delilah. Teane Tyeni is on the line and it seems she has just gotten out of surgery. Teane, how on earth could you have just gotten out of surgery from a car accident, and be so cheerful?"

"I have my friends and family to help me. And talking to you lifts my spirits greatly." Ari smiled. "I am one of your biggest fans. I've been listening to you since I was 5. Every night. When I have to leave, I have my mom record you, I love you so much."

"That's wonderful to hear. I'm still surprised that you just got out of surgery and you're so very cheerful. Are you sure that's it? It sounds like you have another reason to call me."

"I have my friends and family and God to help me, Delilah. What reason don't I have to be cheerful?"

"You're so very right, Teane."

"But, actually, you'd be right. There is another reason I can't state here, on the air now. You must be psychic..."

Delilah laughed. "Ah, I see, well then, what song would you like to hear? Or would you like me to pick one?"

"Actually I have one, Delilah. I wanted to hear Kiss Me."

"It sounds like you've met someone, Teane. You've called up here so very many times hoping that I've actually started to pray for you. (OOC: Ouch, burn by Delilah...)And I'll be sure to play that for you." Delilah smiled.

"Thank you, Delilah!"

"Thank you."

Ari hung up and the song started to play. Everyone stared at her.

"What?" Ari asked.

"...Nothing." Chetara shook her head.

"How many times have you dialed that station?" Hiei asked.

"Oh, I've lost count. I've called so many times, I know Delilah personally." Ari smiled. "Shhh!"

"_Kiss me out by the bearded barley, _

_nightly, beside the green, green grass_

_Swing, Swing, swing the spinning step_

_You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress..." _

The radio sang. Everyone fell silent. Soon came Ari's favorite parts...

_"Oh, kiss me, beneath the milky twilight_

_Lead me, out on the moonlit floor,_

_Lift your open hand, _

_Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance,_

_Silver moon's sparkling_

_So kiss me..."_

Ari and the radio sang. Chetara groaned and studied the ceiling. Kurama was trying not to laugh at Ari.

_"Kiss me, down by the broken treehouse_

_Swing me, up on it's hanging tire_

_Bring bring, bring your flowered hat_

_We'll take the trail marked on your father's map,_

_Oh, kiss me, beneath the milky twilight_

_Lead me, out on the moonlit floor,_

_Lift your open hand, _

_Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance,_

_Silver moon's sparkling_

_So kiss me..._

_Oh, kiss me, beneath the milky twilight_

_Lead me, out on the moonlit floor,_

_Lift your open hand, _

_Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance,_

_Silver moon's sparkling_

_So kiss me..."_

Ari looked around, sighing. Her mom was there...

"Mom...?" Ari asked.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Can you go get me something to eat? And maybe some juice?"

Hiei, Kurama, and Chetara knew something was up. Kia didn't.

"Sure." She left.

"Good, she's gone." Ari sat up.

"Ari." Chetara and Hiei both growled.

"What? Is your problem?" Ari raised an eyebrow and waved an arm. Kuro rose from the ground like an evil thing.

(HELLO!)

(Hello, Ari...What happened to you?)

(Hiei kicked me.) Ari grinned. ( It turns out he broke a rib or two...)

(Or two?)

(Eight, actually)

(EIGHT?)

(Yeah. How are you, Kuro?)

(Fine. I did the shadow thing.) Kuro sighed.

Ari laughed. "That's what you're supposed to do!"

( Yeah, but it's boring.) Kuro sighed.

(So I'm sure it is.) Ari grinned. (Imagine being confined to a bed...)

(Imagine not being able to move unless the person you're attached to moves first!) Kuro whined.

(I'm sorry...)


	40. Chapter 40 Music, and the guy

"Oooh! I LOVE THIS SONG!" Ari yelled, causing Kuro to jump.

"Save tonight, and fight the break of dawn..." Ari sang. "...! Oh, I know what I should've requested!"

"What?" Chetara asked, humoring her.

"Waiting for tonight." Ari sighed. "Another one of my favorite songs."

(Waiting for tonight?) Kuro asked and sat next to Ari. (How's it go?)

"Wellll..." Ari sighed. "I can't sing it. At all."

(Try.) Kuro prodded her.

(I can't. Not out loud. )

(Then sing it in your head. I'll listen.)

(...I can't.)

(Why?)

(Because I'm so bad at it.)

(Come on!)

(...No.)

(Please Ari?)

(...Fine...Oh..., Ari blushed fire engine red I can't sing this! Not without music!)

(...Come on, Ari. I won't laugh. This is the first time I've heard and or listened to music. You've gotta be better than...this.)

(Britney Spears?) Ari laughed. ( I sure hope so!...Thank you, though. ) A/N: Ouch, and yes, I know that that doesn't really fit in with what I said but...

Ari picked up the phone.

"What are you doing?" Kurama asked.

"Seeing if Delilah will let me request another song..." Ari finally got through and got her song. Delilah felt bad for Ari, being in the hospital.

"Waiting for tonight? Well, now, Teane..." Delilah grinned. "I know you've met someone..."

"No, actually..." Ari blushed fire engine red. "It's just...I haven't heard this song in forever..."

"Oh, well, then, Ok. I will play that for you, Teane." Delilah smiled.

The song played. It started and Ari leaned back, closed her eyes, and sighed. Everyone exchanged O.o glances at her choice in music.

_(Oh, yeah_

_Like a movie scene, in the sweetest dream_

_I pictured us together_

_Now to feel your lips, on my fingertips_

_Got to say is even better_

_Then I ever thought that it could possibly be_

_It's perfect, it's passion, it's setting me free_

_From all of my sadness, the tears that I've cried_

_I have spent all of my life..._

_Waiting for tonight, oh_

_When you would be here in my arms_

_Waiting for tonight, oh_

_I've dreamed of this love for so long_

_Waiting for tonight, oh_

_Tender words you say, take my breath away_

_Love me now and leave me never_

_Found a sacred place, lost in your embrace_

_I wanna stay in this forever_

_I think of the day when the sun used to set,_

_on my empty heart, all alone in my bed,_

_Tossing and turning, emotions are strong_

_I knew I had to hold on_

Hiei wondered something. He focused on Ari, entering her thoughts. He wondered what Ari was thinking about when she listened to this song. She seemed happy and content. He listened to her thoughts a few minutes before he was embarrassed. Ari was ingulfed in her private conversation and world by herself and he was intruding. Ari opened her eyes for a second and she looked at him, like she knew he was reading her thoughts. She smiled and closed her eyes again.

_Waiting for tonight, oh_

_When you would be here in my arms_

_Waiting for tonight, oh_

_I've dreamed of this love for so long_

_Waiting for tonight, oh_

_When you would be here in my arms_

_Waiting for tonight, oh_

_I've dreamed of this love for so long_

_Waiting for tonight, oh, oh_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

_ Gone are the days when the sun used to set,_

_On my empty heart, all alone in my bed,_

_Tossing and turning, emotions are strong_

_I knew I had to hold on_

_Waiting for tonight, oh_

_When you would be here in my arms_

_Waiting for tonight, oh_

_I've dreamed of this love for so long_

_Waiting for tonight, oh )_

Ari heard footsteps.

"Sorry!" Ari yelled, snapping her head up and withdrawing her energy in a whiplash effect. Kuro slammed into the ground and settled under Hiei.

Kia walked in. "Teane? What are you doing sitting up?"

"Nothing, mother." Ari smiled.

"Here, you go." Kia gave her some white grape juice and some food to eat.

"FOOD!" Ari yelled.

"Oops, I forgot." Kia grabbed the food. "You're not supposed to eat anything the day before, during, or day after the surgery...what are you listening to?"

Waiting for tonight was winding down on the radio.

"It's called waiting for tonight." Ari smiled. "I requested it."

"...Why?" Kia asked.

Ari shrugged. "Why not?...And pleaseeeee, Mom? I'm starving! I haven't eaten in days! I haven't eaten since..."

Ari stopped and thought a few minutes.

"..." Everyone watched her.

"6:00..." Ari frowned. "Day before yesterday."

"Sorry, that's too bad. You can't eat anything until tomorrow." Kia said. "See that tube? That's your food."

Ari poked the tube once. "This...stuff...is edible?"

"..." Kia sighed. A guy walked in.

"Teane Tyeni?" He asked. Ari gasped.

"HII!" Ari yelled. Hiei glared.

"Hello, Tea." He grinned.


	41. Chapter 41 Kaze

(I'm getting behind on being ahead. I only have up to the 49th chapter written and I need to move ahead. I just haven't felt like writing much, but for you wonderful peeps, I suppose I could write. Love you all, Ariana Miyuki.)

* * *

"Hey, Kaze." Chetara greeted him. "How have you been?"

"Good, compared to Tea." Kaze frowned. "This is a nice welcome home present. The only time you come back to visit us is when you're on your deathbed."

"Sorry!" Ari apologized. "I would've came back sooner but there was trouble."

"Hello there, Kaze." Kia said.

"Hello, Kia, Kiyumi." Kaze said. "What happened to Tea?"

"They say it was a car accident." Kia sighed.

"That's funny, there haven't been any reports of car accidents..." Kaze frowned. Ari coughed.

"Oh. Oh!" Kaze said. "Oh, yeah, uh...never mind. I heard about that. You were a part of that, Tea?" (P.S. It's not pronounced like it is in YGO. It's like Tay. Full name is like Tay Ane.)

"Yup." Ari sighed. "Sad, isn't it?"

"Yeah, the doctor said you won't be able to move for a year."

"WHAT?" Ari asked.

"Yeah, it's a pity, Tea." Kaze sighed, then grinned. "You'll have to stay here with us, now."

"Are you kidding, Kaze?" Ari asked, seriously. "You'd better be. A year?"

"I wish I was kidding, Tea." Kaze said. "He said with any normal person, you'd be paralized for life, Tea. Be happy."

Ari almost broke down. "THAT WORTHLESS !$#$. Paralized! That #$&! doesn't know what the #&(( he's talking about!"

"Teane!" Kia barked.

"...Tea, chill. You'll be able to move around in a year. At least it's not life." Kaze said.

"Heh." Ari took a breath. "We'll see a year. I'm going to be out of here in a week."

"Tea, no matter how extraordinary you are there's no way..."

"Watch, Kaze." Ari slid out of the bed, and stood. Barely, but still standing. She layed back down.

"We'll see a year!" Ari said.

Suddenly, every one of her friends burst in the door. They crowded around her.

"Hey!" They said. They all started talking at once.

"SHH!" Ari yelled. They quieted down long enough to hear, "And I just wanted to call you and...Well, I wanted to tell my beautiful girlfriend how much she means to me. I want to ask her to marry me."

"Yay!" Ari said.

"Is she there? Put her on the phone."

"Hello?"

"Hello. Did you just hear that? What are you...what will you...what is your answer?"

"Yes. Yes!"

Ari sighed. "Who would refuse a proposal like that? If she turned him down after being proposed to in the most romantic way ever, she'd be the most stupid woman alive."

"..." Kaze laughed. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." Ari stuck her tongue out at him. "She would."

"More stupid than you?" Kaze asked.

"Doubt it." Chetara muttered.

"Hey, now, guys, don't be hateful." Ari sighed. "Mom, you should go home. You've had a hard day."

"Teane...!" Kia breathed.

"Go home." Ari said. "It's best."

"...You're going to leave again aren't you?" Kia looked around. "Both of you."

"...I plan on it, mom." Ari said.

"Believe us, it's not our choice this time." Chetara sighed. "But home's too commonplace anymore."

Kia kissed Ari on the forehead. And then kissed Chetara. "I trust you two. Good luck. I also trust your friends to take care of you. Remember, you're always welcome at home."

Kia then left, with a single glance backwards.

"Ok, Ari." Kaze frowned. "Moment of levity over. What really happened?"

Ari laughed. "I got my ribs kicked."

"...Kicked?" Kaze asked.

"Yeah..." Chetara sighed.

"..." Kurama frowned. As did everyone else. However, Kurama and Chetara were the only ones who actually understood what that was about.

"I was running around in cat form and someone opened a door and just...kicked me." Ari yawned.

"Ooh, ouch." Kaze winced. "Who kicked you?"

"Ah, you don't know him." Ari yawned bigger. Suddenly, her head whipped around.

"What?" Icicle asked.

"Ari?" Yusuke asked.

Ari turned her head forward and sighed. "I heard a bell."

"...You mean like...this?" Kaze produced Ari's favorite bell.

"YAY!" Ari shrieked. "My bell! You brought it!"

"And your favorite outfit." Kaze grinned. "I thought you might be missing it."

"Yay!" Ari shrieked, pouncing on her bell. "I love ya, Kaze. You're one of my best friends, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah." Kaze grinned. "But you owe me."

"Yeah, I know." Ari sighed. "What is this? The...eighth or ninth favor I owe you?"

"Twelfth, actually." Kaze grinned.


	42. Chapter 42 Perverted thoughts

"Ah." Ari blinked. "12? How about this? We use 3 of the favors that you owe me to cancel out 3 of your favors."

"Alright, then it is 9." Kaze raised an eyebrow.

Chetara turned to the confused people.

"They're always doing stuff for the other one and keeping track. That way the other person owes them. They've been keeping track for..."

"6 years!" Ari chirped. "That's ALOT of favors."

"Huh, yeah, but most of them are mine." Kaze grinned.

"Not true!" Ari blurted. "Remember the time you owed me like, 18?"

"Remember how I payed you back?" Kaze asked.

"Yup." Ari nodded. "You couldn't get me to do that if I owed a million favors."

"..." Everyone raised eyebrows.

"Uh, he cleaned the entire house for me." Ari blinked. "What were you all thinking of?"

"cough" Kurama cleared his throat. "Well, uh..."

"Never mind." Ari frowned. "I understand why you did and what you thought. Everyone else doesn't have an excuse."

"What's his excuse?" Kaze asked. Ari motioned him over and whispered in his ear. Kaze pulled away with a look of surprise.

"Really? Him?" Kaze asked.

"Yeah. You just can't tell with people anymore." Ari shook her head. "Tragedy."

"No kidding." To Kurama, "I'm sorry."

"...?" Kurama frowned. Chetara frowned too. As did everyone else.

"Anyway, I need to get dressed." Ari looked at herself. "Get out of THIS." Ari stood up.

"Need some help?" Kaze asked. THAT got everyone's attention. "Uh...I was going to help her walk to the bathroom."

"Oh." Everyone said.

"I'm good." Ari started to walk over to the bathroom. Limp, actually.

"Sure you don't need help?" Kaze called.

"Nah." Ari said.

"You need more painkillers." Hiei remarked, smirking.

"Yes!" Ari blurted. "Yeah, that would be phenomenal. It hurts. Not as bad as the jagan, but..."

"The what?"

"Jagan. Third eye."

"I was wondering." Kaze smirked.

"You were what?" Ari blurted. She put a hand to her head and...

"OW!" Ari yelled. "Oh, no. My mother saw that?"

"Yeah." Kaze grinned.

"Ohhh..." Ari frowned. "That was painful beyond belief."

"What?"

"When I poked it." Ari said. "Where's my headband?"

Kaze tossed her her bell, headband, and outfit.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Ari caught it all. "Oh, hey Koenma?"

"Yes, Ari?" Koenma asked.

"Where is that cloak anyway?"

"I put it back in Maikai Vault." Koenma frowned. "Along with the Sword."

"Ooo, speaking of." Ari turned to Kaze.

Kaze raised an eyebrow. "Am I your servant? I don't have it."

"Ooh, too bad." Ari said. "I'm going to have to send someone to get it then."

"..." Kaze was silent. "I'm not going."

"Come on." Ari whined.

"No." Kaze said. "No."

"Please?"

"No." Kaze shook his head. "I'm not EVEN going over there again. They almost took my head off thinking that I was stealing your stuff. No."

"They?" Hiei asked.

"Please?" Ari asked.

"No." Kaze said.

"Chetara? Will you go get my sword?" Ari asked.

"No." Chetara refused. "Our roommates are nightmares."

"Ugh, fine." Ari sighed. "I'll go when I've gotten dressed. Chetara, did you bring that shampoo Kurama made?"

"Yeah. Here." Chetara tossed it at Ari.

Ari caught it.

"Thanks." Ari went into the bathroom. Everyone sat around in tensed silence.

"..." Everyone just looked around at each other.

"Kaze. What have you been doing since we left anyway?" Chetara asked.

"Just stuff." Kaze sighed. "Nothing has really happened since you all left."

"Hm." Chetara sighed. "Nothing?"

"Nothing." Kaze said.

"Still girlfriendless?" Chetara snickered.

Kaze glared at her.

Hiei snickered. Kaze glared at him too. Kurama coughed.

Hiei's head swirved around to listen to the screaming flowers on the bedside table. He picked them up and looked at them.

(HELP!) They called. Hiei infused them with his energy to shut them up.

(Thank you!) They called.

(Yeah, shut up.) Hiei growled at them. Hiei put them back on the table.

Chetara walked over to the bathroom, 20 minutes later.

"Ari? Are you dead?" Chetara called.

"No." Ari said. "I'm alive. This thing's giving me trouble."

"What thing?"

"This tattoo." Ari called. "The dragon tattoo."

Hiei looked up. "What kind of trouble?"

"Hiei wants to know what kind of trouble."

"It's just...never mind!" Ari called. "I'm almost done."

"...Ok, then..." Chetara sat down. "Why'd you come here anyway, Kaze?"

"I came here to see you two." Kaze sighed. The door started to open and it slammed again. They could hear an irritated Ari.

"#& && )( + !" They heard Ari yell.


	43. Chapter 43 Melinda's superslumber party

They exchanged glances. Ari opened the door and walked out. Her hand was bandaged. She held it up.

"I couldn't figure out what to do with it." Ari sighed. "So I covered it up."

Everyone just stared at Ari. Kurama gaped. "That outfit."

Ari looked at it, smiling. "Yeah...Anyway, we need to get out of here!"

"..." Hiei stared at her outfit. It seemed vaguely familiar somehow.

"Where did you get that outfit?" Kurama gaped.

"COME ON!" Ari yelled. "It was really nice talking to you, Kaze. You're a HUGE help and I owe you for life and everything, I know."

Kaze snickered. "For LIFE?"

"Yeah. It'll take life to even out the 10...11...12 favors I owe. Even with those 3 I gave back, I still owe 12." Ari sighed.

"Yeah." Kaze smirked.

"How about I just give you back the favors you owe me and we'll be even." Ari smirked.

"...12?" Kaze asked.

"Yup. I'll even throw in the 13th one in free. What do you say?"

"I don't know. If you give them all back, then what'll make you come back?" Kaze asked.

"My friends and my mother." Ari smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be back. I'll see ya, Kaze."

Kaze nodded. Ari opened the window.

"Long way down..." Ari commented. "Eh, not that long."

Ari jumped. Hiei jumped out immeadiately after her in hopes of making sure she didn't kill herself. Everyone else dropped out of the window and followed Ari to where ever she was going.

Ari stopped and started up a flight of stairs. She knocked on the doors and a girl came to the door.

"Yeah, and then he said...TEANE!" Girl yelled, emphetically. She threw the phone down and attacked Ari.

"OUCH!" Ari yelled, shoving her off. "I JUST got out of surgery! Watch it!"

"Oh, sorry Ari." Girl sighed. Everyone stood back, watching.

Girl scooped up the phone. "I'll call you back, Teane's here! Yeah I know! Yeah! Talk to ya later!" Girl hung up.

"Anyway, Teane!" Girl laughed. "Who are they?"

"My friends." Ari smiled. "Can we all come in?"

"Yeah, but Melinda's having her superslumber party." Girl yawned.

"Ok, Rachelle." Ari sighed. "I need to get my sword."

"Oh, ok. Kaze came by and got your stuff but we wouldn't let him have the sword. That thing's dangerous, you know." Rachelle grinned. "Anyway, Melinda scared him away, mostly."

"Uh huh. Well, I need it." Ari sighed.

"Ok! Hold on." Rachelle took off for Ari's room. After a few minutes, Ari was attacked by the entire gaggle of girls.

"TEANE!" Melinda screamed.

"TEANE!" The other girls screamed, attacking her. Rachelle came back out.

"Girls, I need to go...now. I'm on the lam from the hospital." Ari grinned.

"On the what?" Melinda asked. "A lamb?"

"Nothing, Mindy. I need to get going. Enjoy your superslumber party."

"I will...and MY GOSH Teane! What did you do to your hair? It's sooo shiny and pretty. It's soft and it smells good and everything! What'd you do to it?" Melinda yelled.

"Um...A sort of supershampoo." Ari laughed.

"Cool. I want some. What's it called?"

"Uhhhh...I don't know. I have to go, bye!" Ari took off. The entire group chased after Ari. No one could figure out where she was headed. After running forever, Ari stopped in front of...A portal?

"A portal?" Koenma asked. "I didn't..."

"No, I did." Ari yawned. "To Maikai?" Ari stepped through the portal which put them right outside the mansion. Everyone followed Ari to through the mansion straight to the living room couch.

"I'm starvinnnnnnnggggg..." Ari whined, not moving.

"About your outfit..." Kurama started.

Ari looked at it. "Yeah? It's clothing. I do have strange tastes. It's a black vest and black jeans...with my hat. Gotta have my hat."

"Where did you get it?" Kurama pressed.

"..." Ari looked at Kurama. "Why?"

Chetara was listening. "Some guy." She muttered.

"A guy?" Kurama asked, interested.

"Mm..." Ari sighed. "So hungry...Neeeeeed fooooooddd..."

"When have you last ate?"

"Three days ago..." Ari whined.

"Hm..." Chetara walked to the kitchen.

Ari shuddered. She snuggled up to the couch. Everyone watched Ari and listened to Kurama. He seemed to be conserned about Ari's outfit.

"...reminds me of an outfit of one of Youko's old collegues." Kurama pressed.

"..." Ari opened an eye. She hissed at him. Kurama heard it clearly.

"..." Kurama leaned back.

"I made the vest myself." Ari muttered.

"What would have you do that?"

Ari shuddered. "So hungry..."

Chetara came back. "Here, you baka."

Chetara tossed some food at Ari who grabbed it and ate it like she hadn't eaten for months.

"You're questioning her about her outfit aren't you?" Chetara asked. "I wouldn't. Story's too long for that."

Ari growled. "Chetara." Ari examined the outfit. "My outfit's not that bad."

"It's not." Kurama supplied. "I'm merely wondering as to where your inspiration for making this outfit came from."

Ari examined her outfit again. She stood up, quivering from the pain and cold. She walked to a mirror. She spun around. Ari smiled.

"...hm." Ari grinned. She adjusted her hat. It was a visor of some sort. Black, of course.

"...Ari, why is it such a big deal?" Chetara asked. "I can't remember the guy's name or I'd tell them."

"..." Ari turned and grinned. "...Lucky me, then."

"I still don't see why you wear that outfit. You got over him a long time ago." Chetara pointed out. "After he died..."

"Mmm...Yeah, I just like the outfit, though." Ari tipped her hat at them.

"...Ari!" Kurama called. "This guy..."

"Was indeed a collegue of Youko Kurama. Until his tragic death in robbing a temple..." Ari grinned.

"Kuronue." Kurama sighed.

"Yup." Ari grinned. "I'm tired now. I'll talk to you all tomorrow."

Ari waved at them over her shoulder as she walked away. It seemed things were getting better by the second for Ari and Chetara. At least, that's what Ari thought. Chetara was definitely agreeing.


	44. Chapter 44 Kiss and the compliment

The next morning, Hiei woke Ari up.

"Hmmm...?" Ari murmured, cracking an eye.

"Get up, neko." Hiei growled.

"Make me." Ari growled.

Hiei grabbed Ari's arm and dragged her out of bed.

"Ah, well, that changes things..." Ari yawned, standing up.

"Ari. It's breakfast." Hiei growled. ZOOM. Ari was gone. Hiei chased after Ari. Ari threw herself in a chair.

"FOOD!" Ari yelled, seeing the food.

Everyone laughed. Everyone started eating. Ari ate like a psycho. One plate after another.

"...Where is she putting all that food?" Yusuke asked.

"No clue." Icicle said, stunned. (She had been allowed a room in the mansion.)

Soon, everyone stopped eating and stared at Ari. Ari just kept eating. 12 plates later...

"I'm full." Ari yawned, getting up and going to the couch. She curled up into a ball on the couch and wrapped her tail around her.

Ari slept soundly. Until, she REALLY fell asleep. Then she stretched out and took over the whole couch.

Everyone gathered around.

"Ok, where are we supposed to sit then?" Chetara asked.

"I'll take her to her room." Hiei frowned, picking Ari up. He carried her to her room and layed her on the bed.

"..." Hiei watched Ari a second before retreating.

------------------------------------

A few hours later, Ari woke up in the secure darkness of her room. She felt a cat rub on her hand, purring.

"ROAWR." She heard Shadow yell. Like a little lion.

"Come on..." Ari grabbed Shadow up and drug her onto the bed. Ari petted Shadow until she heard her door being opened. Ari lifted her head and looked. Hiei was there.

"You're up." Hiei nodded.

"Yup." Ari yawned. "And we're going to die unless we start training again."

Hiei frowned. "Yeah."

He walked over and sat down on the foot of her bed. Shadow looked at him hotly. As in, this is my territory, you dog. Move it or I hurt you, mutt. Hiei glared back at Shadow. Shadow hissed at him.

"Shadow!" Ari laughed. "What's up with Shadow?"

"..." Hiei stared at the cat. No backing down now.

Shadow stood up, stretched, and jumped off the bed and onto Ari's dresser.

"Poor Shadow. You took her territory." Ari sighed.

Hiei looked at Ari. "Are the cats ganging up on me?"

Ari laughed. "No, well, I'm not." Shadow jumped back on the bed.

"What are you doing?" Ari asked. "Your butt is crushing me!"

"MRREAR." Shadow whined. Shadow chirped wildly at Ari. Remember Shadow is a shadow panther...Cheetah-like thing. Shadow got up and sat on Hiei. Hiei got up and Shadow plopped down in his spot. Hiei walked around and sat on the other side. Shadow saw the motion and followed him over there and beat him to the spot.

"What..." Ari asked. Hiei growled at the cat.

"MOVE CAT!" Hiei snarled. Shadow stood up and hissed at him. But she didn't move. Hiei went and sat right next to Ari. Shadow didn't move. She just fixed them a sly look.

"...Well, uh..." Ari frowned and blushed a little. Being so close to Hiei now was kind of...

Hiei was blushing a little too. "I think that cat just tricked me."

"Mmm. She is a VERY smart cat..." Ari mused. "I believe she did."

Hiei blinked, stunned. He turned to Ari. "That cat..."

Ari also turned to look at Hiei and their lips met. Ari, in a flash, put her arms around Hiei and kissed him deeply and longingly. Hiei froze once again. He quickly warmed up enough to kiss her back.

Shadow purred. Yup, things were working out.

------------------------------------

"Hmm. Well, it's too late to stop that, it seems." Someone frowned.

"Oh, don't worry. I don't need to stop it. I can just...tear them apart and they won't even realize it's my fault. Soon, they won't even be able to stay in the same room together without fighting."

------------------------------------

Chetara knocked on Ari's door. "LUNCHTIME!"

Hiei and Ari pulled out of the kiss.

"LUNCH!" Ari yelled.

"You're not full?" Hiei blurted.

"No." Ari purred. "Come on!"

Ari took off for the kitchen. "FOOD!"

Hiei chased her like usual.

------------------------------------

Later, Chetara was in her room, reading a book. All things were well in her world. Someone knocked on her door.

"Come in." Chetara called. Kurama walked in.

"I hope you don't mind if I bother you." Kurama smiled.

"Nope." Chetara said, closing the book. "...I was JUST getting ready to put the book away." Liar.

"Oh." Kurama smiled. "That's good then, I guess. I'm glad I'm not bothering you."

Chetara smiled back. "You're not."

Kurama sat down in a corner of her room.

"...How are your flowers doing?" Chetara asked.

"Excellent. Hiei's been helping me take care of them."

"How?"

"I made him a plant elemental for a week to show him what it's like dealing with all those...my...plants." Kurama smiled.

"Oh, wow. You can do that?"

"Yes." Kurama smiled.

They fell silent then.

"Uh..." Chetara frowned.

"I see you used that shampoo I gave you." Kurama frowned.

"Yeah. It worked good. My hair is almost as pretty as yours." Chetara grinned.

Kurama smiled. "Indeed it is." He agreed. "Just as, if not more so."

It took a minute for his compliment to sink in. When it did, Chetara blushed, "Thank you."

"It's nothing." Kurama smiled, and focused on the ground.

"So..." Chetara blurted.

"Maybe..." Kurama blurted.

"You first." They both said. They both started blushing like wildfire. It was especially bad for Kurama, being a redhead. Redheads turn bright bright red when they blush. Tomato-like consistancy. Trust me, I know. I am/have been one. Red hair brings blushing out tenfold.

"Uh...It's not that important." Kurama blushed.

"Oh, ok. Neither was what I was going to say." Chetara blushed.

"..."

**"..." **

**"..."**

The silence seemed to grow louder until it was practically deafening.

"Uh...well...I'm going to go now." Kurama blushed.

"Oh. Ok..." Chetara frowned/blushed. "See you." She looked at the wall and Kurama stood there a second, blushing, and then left. When Chetara looked up, there was a single peach rose on her dresser.


	45. Chapter 45 Floriography, and ouch

Later, when they were alone, she asked him about that peach rose. He merely smiled and said a word Chetara didn't understand.

"What?"

"Floriography." Kurama smiled, blushing a bit. "Follow me."

Chetara felt uneasy but followed him. He went to his room and entered. Chetara stood outside, uncomfortably. Kurama poked his head out.

"You can come in." Kurama smiled.

Chetara walked in. The whole place was covered in plants, flowers, everything. Books on plants and flowers. Plants covering just about every surface. Kurama was digging through the bookshelf. Chetara walked over to a set of flowers by the window.

"These are pretty." Chetara smiled.

"Those are a new kind of flower that I've crosspollenated to make." Kurama smiled. "They're nameless and untested. I don't know what will happen if I plant them. I really am unsure if they're even safe."

Chetara poked it carefully. At her touch, it opened slowly. "Ooh." The inside of the plant was even prettier than the outside.

Kurama pulled out a book. "Here it is. Floriography."

Chetara glanced at him over the pretty window flowers. She sat up and took the book from him.

"What is floriography, anyway?" Chetara asked.

"It's the study of the language of flowers." Kurama smiled. When Chetara looked at him like he'd spouted a new head, he re-phrased that. "It states that every flower has a universal meaning, a sort of language and when you give a flower to someone, it has a specific message attached. It originated in England around the 1600's during the rule of..."

"Uh...That's alright." Chetara shifted her weight. "Ari's the history fanatic."

"Oh, ok." Kurama smiled. "Quite alright. Those flowers seem safe, don't they? And they're very nice."

"...Uh, well, they seem safe." Chetara frowned.

"I really don't think they'll be of any use to me..." Kurama commented. "Why don't you take them along with the book?"

"Me? Uh...why? What do I have to do to take care of them?"

"Just water them. Once a week." Kurama smiled.

"Well, alright." Chetara frowned. Chetara picked it up slowly and put the book under it to make sure she didn't drop anything. She carried the stuff back to her room, with the help of Kurama.

Once she got everything together, Chetara sighed. "Strange. One minute he's cute and shy, the next he's loaning me books on 'the language of flowers' and giving me potted plants and not shy one bit...Still cute, though."

The plant swayed a little, listening.

"Now, let's see this book." Chetara grabbed it and opened the cover. Soon, she was engrossed in floral history and Europian countries in the 1600's. She learned where and when floriography originated. See, thing was she didn't care much. And then she got to the plant listing and all their meanings. She was fascinated.

"Wow, check this out. Azalea: Fragile and Ephemeral Passion. Baby's Breath: Happiness." She read a few more aloud before she realized she was talking to Kurama's plant.

"Oops." Chetara blushed. "..."

Chetara went back to reading silently to herself. Soon, though...

"Forget-me-not: Faithfulness and undying memory." Chetara read aloud. "Wow...And listen to this...Rose, peach: 'Let's get together.' Wow..."

Of course the flower didn't say anything, it merely kept it's tongue, listening. She wouldn't have understood it if it had talked.

"...Darn it!" Chetara sighed. "...Oh, well, it doesn't matter. No one can hear me talking to you, so..."

Chetara kept reading, blushing intensely. The message Kurama had left hadn't escaped her notice. She didn't know what to say or do to that. So, as Chetara sat there, talking to the flower, her progression into another Kurama worsened. She started talking to the plant completely and openly. Worse, after awhile, she began having actual conversations with it. She thought she could hear the plant talking faintly to her, but shook it off, thinking she was crazy.

So, later that night, Chetara was talking openly to the plant. Having long drawn out conversations with it. She was just getting to the good part of a story when Kurama walked in.

"And then Ari tripped and fell right onto...!" Chetara sat up in alarm. "Uhh...Hey, Kurama."

"...Who are you talking to?" Kurama asked.

"What are you doing here, in my bedroom?" Chetara covered.

"Why are you avoiding my question?"

"Why are you avoiding mine?"

"I asked you first."

"..." Chetara crossed her arms. "But you're in my room."

"Is it really yours?" Kurama asked.

"No, but I sleep here." Chetara countered.

"Hm..." Kurama smiled. "I came in here because I heard you talking to someone and I was just wondering..."

"..."

"Who you were talking to."

"Oh, well, that's not important." Chetara blushed. "But, uh...I was wanting to ask you about that flower..."

"You read what it meant, right?" Kurama smiled, but there was a touch of sadness in his smile. "I do suppose you'll say no, thinking I'm strange and all..."

"...How did you know that?" Chetara frowned. "But uh...Well, is that really the message you wanted to get across? Erm, what I meant was..."

"You're asking me if you read it right?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah." Chetara nodded. "I am."

"Well, I'm sure you did. It said, "Rose, peach: 'Let's get together.' " Kurama smiled, blushing hugely. "well..."

"Uh...Wow. Uh..." Chetara blinked and frowned and blushed. "Wow."

"..." Kurama shifted his weight back and forth. "That doesn't sound good..."

"Uh, well, I don't know." Chetara blinked/blushed. "What it sounds like. And um...Wow."

Kurama studied the ceiling, thinking, (Perhaps I sprung that on her too soon and now I'm pushing her and that's why she's panicking...) Kurama started to back towards the door.

"I think I'll go now." Kurama said, walking backwards into the nearest wall out of embarrassment. "Farewell, Chetara."

He exited the room extremely quickly. Hiei fast. Swoosh, and he was outta there! A/N: Ha.

Chetara stared at the door. (Uh...What was that?)


	46. Chapter 46 Kurama and Chetara

Ari was in her room, feeling extreme pain. (We remembered to bring everything BUT my painkillers!)

The door swung open. "Ari?" Hiei asked. "Are you alright?"

"...NO." Ari snapped. "I'm not!"

Hiei jumped. "What's wrong?"

"I'm in so much pain, I think my internal organs are being ripped out and re-arranged!" Ari snapped.

"..." Hiei walked over to her bed. "Forgot the painkillers?"

"Uhm..." Ari groaned. "Yeah."

"I think Chetara grabbed them..." Hiei muttered.

"GET HER." Ari growled/yelled.

Hiei jumped and took off. He knocked on Chetara's door.

"...Uh, yea?"

"Do you have Ari's painkillers?" Hiei called through the door.

The door opened a crack and Chetara threw them at Hiei. "One. That's Valium."

"What?" Hiei asked.

"Never mind. Tell her one." Chetara slammed the door.

Hiei walked back to Ari, who was supremely suffering.

"She said one." Hiei frowned.

"Ok." Ari groaned. She took it with a glass of water nearby. She sat there and rocked back and forth. Hiei walked over there.

"Sorry, I yelled at you...Hiei." Ari muttered. "Sorry, sorry."

"It's alright." Hiei shook his head. "It's my fault. I did it to you."

"It didn't hurt a third of this much until they did that surgery." Ari tried to smile. "Not your fault."

Hiei shook his head. "It is." He left then.

Ari sighed. Poor Hiei, blaming himself.

------------------------------------

The next day, Ari was all better. At least, that's what she told everyone. Her "special" properties enabled her to heal much much faster than normal. But, honestly, she wasn't completely well, she just told everyone that.

So then they started training again.

------------------------------------

That night with Chetara.

"...Kurama asked me out." Chetara blurted to all the girls.

"What? No way! Wow!" Ari grinned. "Awesome." She was keeping her secret as long as possible.

"Oh, Chetara." Ashley (Ash) sighed. "You're lucky."

"Yeah, yeah." Arika crossed her arms. "So she finally hooked a guy. So what?"

"A cute guy." Ashley pointed out.

"See, thing is, I didn't know what to say, so I think I scared him off." Chetara sighed. "..." She turned to look at the plant Kurama gave her. She "heard" it, but ignored it for now.

_You didn't scare him off! Welllll, maybe just a little..._ The flowers said.

"Wow, those are pretty." Ari commented.

"Kurama gave them to me. He made them himself." Chetara sounded proud and braggish. Sort of. "And he loaned me a book on floriography."

"On what?" Icicle asked.

"Study of the language of flowers?" Ari remarked.

"Yup. I knew you'd know of it." Chetara grinned.

"I love floriography." Ari sighed. "Lucky."

Icicle frowned, noticing Ari sounded particularly wistful. "Ari?"

"So..." Ashley studied Ari. "How are things in Ari's world?"

"Good." Ari nodded.

"Any new news?" Arika grinned.

"Nooo..." Ari studied the ceiling. "How'd you scare Kurama off, Chetara? I mean, if he's survived you this long..."

Chetara growled at her. "What's that mean?"

"It was a question." Ari grinned.

"Well, I kinda got a little scared and I think I upset him when I freaked out over his question...er...statement." Chetara sighed. "My fault."

"So, do you want to go out with him?" Ari asked, leaning forward. Chetara growled, that was answer enough.

"No, really! Do you?" Ari pressed harder.

"...mmm..." Chetara growled a little louder.

"Come on!" Ari teased.

"Yes! Fine! There!" Chetara snarled.

_Yay! Alright! Hooray! _The flowers cheered. Chetara sighed. Great. Her flowers and best friends were ganging up on her.

_Oooh, you should tell him that now! Are you afraid that he won't like you when you go out or what? _The flowers asked.

"I'm not afraid." Chetara growled.

Ari looked confused. "We didn't say you were."

"..." Chetara frowned. Ash and Arika exchanged glances. Icicle chuckled.

"Are you alright?" Ash asked.

"You're turning into a weirdo like Kurama. Talking to nothing." Arika commented.

"...!" Chetara growled. "Shut up."

"Me?" Arika asked.

"Yeah you. Shut up." Chetara growled.

"Ooh, did I touch a nerve, insulting flower boy?" Arika said in a singsongy voice. "Or was it using flower boy to insult you?"

"Shut up, Arika." Chetara growled. "Now."

"Make me." Arika said in a singsongy voice.

Chetara jumped up. "Out of my room! NOW."

Arika stood up too. "Why should I?"

"Uh...come on, Arika." Ari started to pull Arika away. They were all out almost immeadiately once Ari got Arika out.

In the hallway, they passed Kurama.

"Hey, there, flower boy!" Arika greeted.

"Uh...excuse me?" Kurama asked, politely.

"Nothing, sorry Kurama!" Ari started to drag her away. "You should go check on Chetara, by the way."

They took off.

Kurama blinked and watched them go. He shrugged and headed to Chetara's room, wondering what on earth they were talking about.

He knocked on her door and she answered, "What!"

"Uh...can I come in?"

"I guess."

He entered her room and sat down on the bed. "...What's wrong?"

"Long story." Chetara sighed.

"Oh, well, I've got time, if you need it." Kurama smiled.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Chetara frowned.

_Aw, come on. If you can't talk to Shuichi about it, who can you talk to?_ The flowers asked.

"You shut up." Chetara growled.

Kurama laughed. "Well, you can understand them?"

"I guess, if that's what you call it. I call it crazy." Chetara frowned.

"Let's just say you're getting in touch with your inner plant." Kurama laughed.

"...inner...plant...?"

"Yeah. From your actions you'd be a gladiolus." Kurama smiled. "That's your inner plant."

"A what?"

"A gladiolus. It's a type of flower mentioned in that book I loaned you."

Chetara grabbed the book. "Spell it."

"G-L-A-D-I-O-L-U-S." Kurama laughed.

"Strength of character. Hm..." Chetara read.

"..."

_Ooh, he called her a gladiolus. I've met one of those before. They're loads of fun to hang out with but they almost got me in trouble with Shuichi. _The flowers giggled.

Kurama laughed. "I remember that. Hopefully you all learned your lesson not to hang out with strange flowers."

_Oh, we did! _The flowers promised.

Chetara bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Kurama noticed this. "They're like children."

"I noticed." Chetara laughed.

Kurama watched her. Chetara eventually sat down.

"Don't cross the street, don't play with strange flowers, don't eat things you don't know what they are unless I say it's ok, It's like I own a daycare." Kurama sighed, laying down on his back.

"How do the flowers cross the street?"

"That was a joke." Kurama looked at her.

"Oh." Chetara frowned.


	47. Chapter 47 Nenin and the fight

He laughed. "You believed me."

"Can't tell anymore. When the plants started talking to me, it confused me and now I can't tell what's real from what's not."

"Hm..." Kurama watched her. "I could see that. It always came naturally to me and Youko. He's been able to do it since he was born and so can I."

"Lucky you."

"..." Kurama frowned. "Lucky?" He shook his head and shrugged.

"Yeah."

"..." Kurama crossed his arms but didn't say anything.

"What?"

Kurama shook his head. "Nothing."

_Ooh, you hit a sore spot there. We think you made him mad. _The flowers frowned. _Maybe you should watch what you say next time. _

Kurama glared at them. A/N: Ouch.

"Sorry, didn't know that um...well, I don't know what I did, but whatever it was, I did it wrong." Chetara fell back onto the bed.

Kurama frowned and kind of half smiled. "It's alright, I suppose. You didn't know."

"Whatever I did." Chetara frowned.

Kurama frowned too. "Well..."

"...I don't know, I didn't do it." Chetara replied quickly.

"What?" Kurama asked.

"Not my fault. He did it." Chetara grinned.

"Who? Did what?"

"Don't know, I just wanted to blame it on someone else." Chetara shrugged. "You were actually listening to me?"

Kurama laughed. "Yes, I actually was."

"Wow, Ari's usually the only one who listens to me. But since we've gotten here, not even her." Chetara sighed.

"Well, if you ever want to talk to me, I'm always around." Kurama smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind." Chetara smiled.

"Well, I do suppose I should get going." Kurama smiled.

"Why?"

"...I might be able to stay." Kurama smiled at her.

------------------------------------

The next day, they were all training when a guy came out of the woods, deeply wounded.

"Help me." The guy moaned, before collapsing in the dirt.

Ari and Chetara ran over there, followed by everyone else. Ari sat him up.

"Are you alright?"

The guy was out cold. Everyone carried him back to the mansion to have someone who knew what they were doing take care of him.

"He'll be fine soon. He needs to rest and recouperate." The doctor person said.

They nodded and Ari sat down.

"It's strange, I feel like I've seen him before...he's so familiar..." Ari frowned. Hiei frowned. Everyone watched the guy a minute and then Yusuke spoke up.

"Well, I'm tired. Call me when he wakes up or something." Yusuke called. "See ya."

Ari watched him go. One by one, everyone found excuses to leave. Hiei, Ari, Chetara, and Kurama were the only ones left.

"He seems a bit familiar to me too." Hiei frowned. "I can't think why."

"Hey, Ari, I think I'm going to go read my book Kurama loaned me." Chetara said. "Bye."

Chetara left and Kurama followed her, not even bothering with an excuse.

And then the guy started to stir.

"Should he be awake this soon?" Ari asked, looking at Hiei worriedly.

"I don't know."

"Ugh...ugh..." Guy groaned. He looked over at Ari. "...I...know you...from somewhere..."

Ari tilted her head. Huh?

"Well, I'm one of those people that everyone thinks they know. You know, familiar face." Ari frowned.

"No, it's more than that..." Guy frowned.

Hiei stepped forward. "Where?"

"I...think I dreamed about her before." Guy muttered.

"Oh, haha, very cute." Ari chuckled, while sighing inwardly.

"No, I'm not joking. Your name is Ari, isn't it?" Guy asked.

Ari froze. "Uh..."

"He must of heard Chetara say it while he was unconscience." Hiei frowned.

"Yeah, that has to be it. Or he knows that I'm the neko princess." Ari nodded. "Anyway, what's your name?"

"...Nenin." He muttered. "You don't believe me?"

"...It just seems strange." Ari frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Nenin half-smiled. "I'm psychic."

"..." Ari frowned. "Why would you dream about me?"

"I don't know." Nenin frowned.

Hiei felt the urge to cut in. "Uh...Nenin, is it? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Yeah, I guess. I just enjoy Ari's company so much, I forgot." Nenin smiled.

Hiei stood up. "Well, see you." He grabbed Ari's arm and pulled her out of the room.

"Wait! Uh...Bye!" Ari called.

------------------------------------

"Hiei, what's up?" Ari blurted.

"Nothing, that guy is strange, Ari." Hiei growled. "You need to leave him alone."

"He's psychic, Hiei. There's nothing strange about him, you're just overreacting." Ari sighed.

"So you trust and believe and listen to him, but not me?" Hiei blurted. "Why is that?"

"Hiei, you're just freaking out for no reason." Ari snapped. "Calm down. There's nothing weird about Nenin."

Hiei dropped her arm. "Right. So, you go ahead and trust him over me." He stomped off. Ari watched him go. Ari went to her room and layed down on her bed, miserable.


	48. Chapter 48 THIS is THIS, and Amnesia

Ok, I know what y'all are going to say. "Why did she update so fast?" Cuz I felt like it, ok? I'm just joking with you guys, I love you all. It is a super boring Saturday and I'm so bored I can'tstand it. Hey, I need more buddies on my messenger and MSN lists so if you want to be added let me know, stupid fanfiction won't let me put my msn and yahoo account names on here. Oh, and please add me to your myspace. I can't put that here either, but let me know and I'll send you the link for that too. And um...Oh, I'll have a bunch of new pictures of Ari(when I stop being lazy) on my Quizilla webpage, so check that out in a week or two if you want to see what Ari looks like. She looks the same in all my stories, except the ones where she's human, and I have a picture for that too. Ok,

Signed, your faithful (and hopefully favorite) authoress,

Ariana Miyuki AKA: Ari

* * *

A few hours later, Hiei knocked on Ari's door. "Ari?" 

"Come in." Ari sighed.

He did. "Ari, you were right. I overreacted."

"..." Ari looked at him. "You're admitting it?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Aw." Ari smiled at him. She giggled and patted the bed next to her. "Come hither."

"What?" But he walked over and sat. Ari then leaned over to him and kissed him. He kissed her back.

"I'm sorry." Ari sighed. "You might just be right and I'm a fool for trusting this...stranger...after talking to him for a few seconds."

"Well, I don't know about all that, but..." Hiei shrugged."Gee, thanks." Ari giggled.

"No problem." He smirked and poked her in the side gently. Ari giggled.

"I'm all better now," She laughed. "And that tickles."

"Oh?" Hiei grinned, tickling her harder.

"Stop." Ari laughed, falling back onto the bed. Hiei leaned over her tickling her. Chetara chose that golden moment to walk in.

"Hey, Ari? That one guy..." Chetara started, then trailed off. She grinned. Hiei sat up in a hurry, but it was too late.

"..." Hiei stared at her.

"..." Chetara grinned at him and Ari. Ari sat up with a sigh.

"Hey, Chetara." Ari smiled, nervously with her hand behind her head.

"Hello, Ari." She grinned. "Hello, Hiei."

"..." Hiei and Ari were really quiet. They didn't say another word.

"Now, uh...how long has THIS been happening without anyone noticing?" Chetara grinned.

"...Two days..." Ari laughed, nervously. "And uh...what's THIS?"

"Oh, you know what THIS is." Chetara grinned.

"...There is no THIS." Ari laughed, even more nervous.

"Oh, yes, there is a THIS." Chetara grinned. "This is THIS."

"This is not THIS. That was not THIS." Ari laughed, continuing to be nervous. Hiei stared at them both.

"Hiei, was that THIS?" Chetara grinned, looking at Hiei.

"Don't drag him into that. It wasn't and isn't THIS." Ari growled.

"Yes it is a THIS. Have you two kissed yet?" Chetara grinned.

"...yes..." The both muttered.

"Then it is a THIS." Chetara grinned.

Ari sighed. "Why did you come here?"

"That guy's asking about you." Chetara sighed. "I guess I should tell him that you're going out with Hiei now."

"Chetara Kioke!" Ari yelled, diving at Chetara, who laughed and ran out. "Don't you dare say a word to anyone!"

Ari chased Chetara out of the room, leaving a confused Hiei.

* * *

Eventually, Ari went into the infirmary room to check on Nenin. 

"Hello." He grinned.

"Hello." Ari grinned back. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, better now." Nenin grinned. Chetara poked her head in.

"She's dating Hiei, so I wouldn't get too close." Chetara called. Ari threw a lamp at Chetara, who then vanished.

"Oh, you are?" Nenin asked. "Oh, well, I only want to be friends anyway. Just you being here makes me feel better."

Ari smiled at him. "Sounds good."

About 20 minutes later, Hiei wandered past the infirmary and heard Ari and Nenin talking. Regardless of what he'd said, he was jealous. He poked his head in.

"Hey, Ari." He said.

"Ah, the jealous boyfriend." Nenin sighed. "Hello."

Ari gave him a weird look. Hiei growled at him.

"Shut up, pretty boy."

"Guys!" Ari cried. "No fighting."

"Sorry, Ari." Nenin smiled. "There was no harm intended."

"Yeah, no harm my..." Hiei started to snap, but lapsed into silence at Ari's glare. He walked over and put his arms around her. "Sorry, Ari."

Ari blinked. Did he just apologize? Wow. Nenin glared at Hiei, who smirked in return. Then, Nenin smiled at Ari.

"See, we can get along, Ari."

"Don't apologize to me, say it to each other." Ari frowned.

Hiei and Nenin's faces froze then Nenin sputtered out an apology.

Hiei muttered a returning reply. Ari smiled.

"Thank you."

Hiei frowned to himself. Nenin irritated him more than he could say. The team walked in.

"Hey, Hiei, Ari." They grinned. "Nenin. Ari, we heard about you and Hiei, congradulations."

Ari blushed crimson. "Do any of you happen to...know the location of my partner in crime, Chetara?"

"She's in her room." Kurama frowned.

"Excuse me." Ari left. Hiei and Nenin glared at each other with death in their eyes.

"Whoa..." Yusuke muttered, seeing them glaring so intently at each other. Nenin smiled at them.

"Sorry, I'm not feeling very well, today." He smiled. "Not yet, but I'm starting to feel better."

"That's good. Do you remember anything that would help us figure out what happened to you?" Yusuke pressed.

Nenin's face stiffened. "No. Nothing."

"Strange kind of amnesia." Hiei remarked.

"Not quite. The loss of a memory that caused him physical pain and fear is quite common among types of amnesia. The body doesn't want to remember that event which caused them pain, so it doesn't. That is called convienient forgetfulness." Kurama smiled. "Jueng wrote about it in one of his many books."

"...Uh, yeah, so you don't remember?" Kuwabara asked.

"Nope." Nenin said.

"Well, alright. Bye." Kuwabara said, and left. Yusuke filed suit along with Hiei and Kurama.


	49. Chapter 49 Pollenation, and problems

Chetara was sitting in her room, discussing some important things with her flowers when Kurama knocked, asking to come in.

"Come on in." Chetara smiled.

"...It's nice talking to you again." He smiled, sitting down.

"Same here." Chetara smiled. She frowned slightly at how close he was, but tried not to concentrate on that.

"How are the girls?" Kurama asked. Chetara frowned for a second, thinking he meant her friends, but he meant her plants.

_Hi, Shuichi! _They called, happily. _We're doing fine! We're comfy cozy here, and having fun. The sun's extra warm today!_

He smiled. "That's good to hear."

Chetara tried not to laugh. "The sun's extra warm?"

He smiled at her. "It is 75 out there today."

"Oh, I get it. The air's extra warm?"

"Yes." He smiled.

Chetara smiled. "They're really fun to..." She fell quiet as Kurama put his arm around her but quickly picked up her 'plane of concentration' (OOC: Really bad private joke. She picked up her train of thought.) "-To spend time with."

Kurama smiled. "You'd make a good mother someday."

Chetara blushed. "As silly as this sounds, so would you."

Kurama laughed. "Because I'm so tolerable of my plants?"

"Yup. They're so much like children, it's silly." Chetara smiled.

Kurama laughed, thinking it over. "Yes, I often feel like I'm running a daycare."

"Kurama?" Chetara asked. "I can talk to these plants. You didn't do anything to incur this random event, did you?"

Kurama shook his head. "No."

"Promise?"

"Yes, Chetara, I did nothing to make you understand the plants." Kurama said, quite seriously.

Chetara sighed. "Alright..." She looked up at Kurama. He smiled at her, looking into her eyes. She blushed, as Kurama kissed her on the mouth.

* * *

Hiei was bored and tired. He walked into Kurama's room and was bombarded by two dozen different kinds of plants. And Daphne and Ane.

"Hi, Hiei!" Daphne giggled. "How are you?"

"..." Hiei eyed her suspiciously. "Fine. And you?"

"Good. I am a little thirsty, though." Daphne smiled. Hiei sighed and poured some water into her pot. Daphne cheered.

"Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah, where's the fox?" Hiei asked.

"Shuichi?" Ane asked. "Oh, he's out trying to pollenate that girl. Chetara."

Hiei coughed. "Trying to what?"

"Wait, that's not the right word." Ane frowned.

"No, for humans that's courting." Daphne laughed. "Not pollenate. Youko explained the difference for humans to me."

"Oh? You'll have to fill me in later." Ane said, a bit unhappily. Her name is 'older sister' and it was her job to know things before her little sister, so she could tell her in the easiest way.

"Alright. Anyway, he's trying to court Chetara." Daphne smiled at Hiei. "Pollenation comes later."

Hiei coughed and shook his head. "I have to go."

* * *

As the days went by, Nenin seemed to be driving a wedge in Ari and Hiei's relationship. Especially once he became mobile. He was always walking in on a deeply intimate kiss between them. Shadow HATED Nenin. On one such occasion, she hissed extremely loudly. Nenin jumped. "Woah, kitty. Calm down."

"Hey, Nenin, what's up?" Ari asked, turning away from Hiei slightly.

"Oh, just coming to say hi and see what's going on." Nenin smiled, sitting down.

"Well, uh..." Ari frowned, she had her arms around Hiei's neck and he was holding her.

"Oh, am I intruding?" He asked.

"Yes, you are. You always do." Hiei growled.

"Um, I don't want to be rude, but can you please leave for awhile?" Ari asked.

"Oh, alright." Nenin nodded. "I guess you two are embarrassed about your relationship?"

Ari and Hiei paused, uncomfortably. Embarrassed? Ari thought, (I'm not. Maybe Hiei is...Is he? Maybe he is.) Hiei was having the same thought about Ari.

"Well, you know, who am I to come in and judge your relationship?" Nenin shrugged. "Well, see you." He left, but the seed of doubt was planted. Ari turned back to Hiei and looked in his eyes. Hiei looked back. Ari layed her head on his shoulder. She didn't feel like being intimate right now. She needed to think.

* * *

That night, Ari walked into Chetara's room to see...them kissing.

"Oops!" Ari gasped, turning and walking out. She paused and glanced back in. "Uh...hello."

Chetara blushed. "Uh...hey, Ari."

Kurama studied the ceiling, blushing. Kurama and Chetara were in the middle of an intimate moment of their own.

"Sorry, I'll leave." Ari grinned. She left.


	50. Chapter 50 The Attack

Ari walked into her room and sighed. She was bored. She sat on the bed, and Nenin knocked at her door.

"Ari?"

"Come in." Ari called. Nenin came in and sat down.

"How are you, Ari?" Nenin asked.

"Good." Ari frowned, sitting up and staring off. She felt Hiei approaching. Suddenly, Nenin threw himself at her. He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her as Hiei walked in, gasped, and walked out. Ari shoved him off, too late.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Ari yelled, in a fury.

"Sorry, Ari, but I can't let you two stay as...tight as you are." Nenin grinned.

"What?" Ari asked, shocked.

"..." Nenin grinned. "What are the chances he'll listen to your excuses?"

"...none..." Ari whispered. "YOU! You planned this from the start!" She started yelling. Nenin smashed his hand against her mouth.

"Shh, and be a good girl." Nenin whispered. "We don't want to hurt you."

Ari bit him.

"Bad idea!" He yelled, whacking her in the temples, knocking her out. He left, calm as when he walked in. He bumped into Chetara in the hall.

"Hey, how's Ari?" Chetara asked him.

"Oh, she's fine. She's sleeping right now, though, I wouldn't disturb her." Nenin smiled.

"Alright." Chetara smiled back, and turning and heading for her room.

------------------------------------

In the middle of the night, Nenin consulted with his partner about where to go from here.

"Let's attack them now. While they sleep." His partner grinned. "And the neko girl is out."

"Excellent idea." Nenin grinned. "Are the troops ready?"

------------------------------------

Soon after, everyone (that is, except Ari) woke up to a loud yelling.

"What the-!" Yusuke yelled, looking out his window. They were being ambushed. He jumped out the window, on an unsuspecting victim.

"What's going on?" Yusuke yelled.

"We don't know!" Kuwabara called back. "They just started attacking."

"...Look at Hiei!" Chetara called. Hiei was taking them down by the hundreds. Two, three hundred, dead. Icicle was also wiping them out using her hand scythes.

"Woah!" Kurama gaped, then started fighting himself. Someone jumped Hiei from overhead, and he dodged. Nenin laughed.

"I've never liked you, you piece of trash." Nenin chuckled, attacking him again. This time Hiei was hit in the shoulder. Hiei snarled venomously, and sliced him in the stomach, and Nenin only grinned.

"Ooh, that may have stung a bit." Nenin grinned. "But you know what'll hurt you worse? When I tie you up and you have to watch what I do to your girlfriend..."

"And I'm the trash!" Hiei yelled.

Hiei swung blindly at Nenin, only to miss.

"That's no way to survive..." Nenin chuckled. "You do know I tricked you both. I saw your little tag team fighting you've been working on, and how strong it was, I knew we couldn't be having that."

Hiei felt shock. "So, that was..."

Nenin grinned. "I didn't dare leave you two as close as you were."

"Is she...alright?" Hiei whispered.

"The girl isn't the issue." Nenin smirked. "But don't worry, she's not dead...yet. But neither are you, and I'm going to fix that now."

Hiei growled, and sliced Nenin in the shoulder, who stepped back. He held his shoulder and glared. "Alright, if that is how you wish it. You should have given up, and perhaps I would have taken it easy on you, but instead now you'll die along with Ari."

Hiei felt helpless, and he hated the feeling. Icicle ran at Nenin, who flung her aside like a rag doll.

"This is our fight, onna." Nenin growled. "Stay out of it, or I'll kill you."

Icicle gasped, then growled. "Oh? Well, I'm not going to obey your commands just because you commanded it!"

Nenin raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you defying me, kifujin?"

Icicle smirked darkly. "Yes." She stood up, and adjusted her hand scythes. Nenin only stared at her. A woman challenging him? Hm...

Icicle ran at him, and in his confusion and shock, she got the upper hand. She sliced him clean through from the hip up through his stomach and chest, straight up to the collarbone. Nenin gasped and backed away, holding his hand over his stomach. He vanished and then reappeared at the top of a tree.

"I will leave for now, but not before taking something important to you all." Nenin frowned darkly, his face twisted in pain. "Ari." He vanished.

----------------------------------------------------


	51. Chapter 51 The lion's den

They all ran for Ari's room, but she was indeed gone. Chetara growled, and kicked a hole in the wall, yelling continuously unending strings of obsenities. Everyone else just sat down, stunned.

"He took Ari..." Hiei whispered, angrily. Icicle was staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, guys?" She asked.

"What!" Hiei snapped. Everyone looked at her.

"Nenin. When I attacked him, he was much stronger than me, right? So...why didn't he dodge my attack? He let himself get cut wide open..." Icicle pondered.

"We don't know! Who really knows what that psycho's motives were, anyway?" Chetara snapped. Icicle blinked.

"I was just wondering. It seems sort of strange to me. He had no reason to let me slice him open like that." Icicle frowned.

Everyone just shook their heads. They needed to find Nenin...immeadiately.

--------------------------------------

That night, Chetara was sitting on her bed, depressed. There was a knock at the door, and Kurama poked his head in.

"Chetara?" He asked, softly. "Can I come in?"

She nodded. "Go ahead." She closed her eyes. He came in and sat on the bed next to her. He reached out and grabbed her. He pulled her close for an embracing cuddle. Chetara sighed, and layed her head on his shoulder.

Kurama smiled. "We'll find her. Don't worry."

Chetara nodded. "I know." She looked up at him. He smiled reassuringly at her, and then turned his head down to kiss her.

--------------------------------------

Ari woke up in the lion's den. Or close enough. She looked around the huge and creepy castle. Realizing she was all alone, she tried to think of a way out. She didn't like this at all. She was in some sort of cell, chained to the wall. Two demons came by, and they looked in.

"Hehehe, looks like sleeping beauty's awake." One of them grinned, poking the other one.

"Well, she certainly is..." The other one grinned. He opened the cell door and they walked in.

"Uh...hi." Ari blinked. "What can I do you for?"

They grinned. "Oh, we can think of something."

Ari's thoughts ran wild in a rampant. (Think, girl!) She berated herself.

"Oh, you don't want me." Ari shrugged best she could. They frowned.

"And why's that?"

"Uh...I bite. And I have all these nice pretty shadow minions that can tear you to pieces." Ari smiled.

"We would be worried, but Nenin took your powers away." They grinned. Ari froze.

"Oh...well, uh...I have STD's. HIV." Ari supplied. (If I make it out of here, it won't matter what I said in here. And whether I lied will be irrelevant, cuz I'll be back to beg Hiei's forgiveness. The end justifies the means.)

"You have what and what?" The more stupid one asked. "A disease that can kill you." Ari grinned. "If you even touch me, it'll effect you. Better stay away."

They got a bit worried. The smarter one grabbed his friend.

"Come on. We don't want her, anyway." They left. Ari sighed.

(I need to get going before someone comes along and decides they don't care. Not like it's true.) She started studying her chains, trying to think of a way to get out. She gasped. (Aha!)

---------------------------------------------------

"Ok, we've figured out where his lair is." Koenma grinned, proudly.

"Alright, toddler, where is it?" Hiei growled.

"Hm...I don't think I'll tell you, since you're going to be so mean about it." Koenma tossed his head.

"Uh, Koenma, sir? Ari's life is on the line here..." Botan spoke up.

"COME ON, BRAT!" Hiei growled.

"No. Well, I might tell you, but you will be indebted to me for the rest of your life, Hiei. You can never leave the team, or do anything I forbid." Koenma grinned.

"#$ you." Hiei growled. "I'll find her myself."

Koenma gasped. "Hiei!" He shook his head. "I was planning on telling you, but since you're going to be a potty mouth, I've changed my mind."

"URGH!" Hiei growled.

"Hiei, don't!" Koenma yelled.

---------------------------------------------------

About 5 minutes later, Koenma's office was a complete wreck. His desk was in hundreds of pieces, his everything was everywhere, and his papers were all burnt to ashes.

"She is in the B sector of Maikai, dark region." He pouted. "Now, get out, Hiei!"

Hiei left, looking satisfied. Everyone followed him out the door.

"Ok. Now, Hiei. We are all going together to save Ari, right?" Kurama pressed.

"Hn." He tossed his head. "If you can keep up."

"Hiei. It will require all of us. And besides, you really shouldn't go. Your wound hasn't quite healed yet." Kurama pointed out.

"..." Hiei growled and took off. Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara followed after him in a hurry. Icicle, Ashley, Arika, and Chetara chased after them.


	52. Chapter 52 Second in Command

Ari had finished picking her lock with one of her hairpins that she used on the very ends of her hair. The lock popped open and she rubbed her wrist and stood up. She poked her head out of the cell, and started trying to pick the cell lock. She was inevitably close to getting it when the door opened. She ran to the back and slung herself down on the ground and covered the open shackle with her hair and put her arm behind her hair. Hopefully they wouldn't be too careful to details. Nenin came around the corner and looked at her.

"Hello, little jail kitten." He smiled.

"...Trash." Ari spat out.

"Aw. That's cute. Little kitten's hissing at me." Nenin grinned, turning to someone out of Ari's sight.

"Stop flirting, Nenin." The guy ordered. Ari frowned. That voice...it was familiar...somehow...

"Alright. I'm not flirting with her, though." Nenin frowned. "I want to tear her pretty little head off."

"Well, wait until Hiei and the others get here, first." He said, coldly. "Then you can tear away."

"Good." Nenin grinned.

Ari frowned. "Why are you taking orders from him?"

Nenin frowned. "...we're partners."

"Seems like you're second in command..." Ari raised an eyebrow. "That's sad."

"Be quiet, jail kitten." Guy ordered. "Ari."

Nenin was silent. He frowned, thinking.

"Why? I'm right!" She yelled, demanding a fair voice in it.

"Shut up!" He demanded.

"Ari." Nenin frowned. "You'd best shut it before you make him mad."

"Nenin, you have no business being second in command!" Ari cried. "You are way strong, and clever. You have no need to work under this jerk!"

"Shut up!" The guy yelled. "Nenin, shut her up!"

Ari opened her mouth, but her own shadow silenced her. She stared into its cold eyes, hoping for it to understand, but it did not. It obeyed Nenin.

"That's better. Now, leave her for now, Nenin." Guy frowned. "We'll come back for her."

Nenin nodded, slowly. Second in command...? He glanced over at Ari, who met his eyes. With a toss of his head, he followed the other guy. The shadow disappeared and Ari removed her hand from the open shackle and continued trying to pick her way out.

-------------------------------------------------

They arrived at Dreynor Castle. Nenin's castle. Hiei frowned at the huge, evil looking structure that struck everyone silent. Except Icicle.

"Ohhh, wow!" She gasped, slipping out of character. "This place is awesome."

Hiei rolled his eyes and the girls gave Icicle confused glances. They headed into the castle, and ran for the main room.

--------------------------------------------------

Ari succeeded in opening her cell, and ran for the exit. Suprisingly, there were no guards. Too easy... she thought. She ran for the main room, and bumped into Nenin.

"Hello, jail kitten." He grinned, wickedly. "I guess it's time to kill you now. You've officially escaped."

"Uh...Well, you know...um..." Ari was stalling for seconds. "I can't believe you did that to Hiei!"  
He clinched his teeth and blew out. "Are those going to be your last words?"

"They might!" Ari accused. "Why...how could you do that?"

"...easily." Nenin snarled. "Easily, kitten."

"But why?" Ari repeated.  
"..." He clicked his tongue, thinking. "I guess I hated seeing you two so happy. And plus, you two together were a bit too strong."

"...Why do you hate seeing us so happy?" Ari closed her eyes.

"Because I never, will never, and have never experienced that kind of happy." Nenin growled. "So you two shouldn't either."

"..." Ari sighed. "You know...You would be good for..." The gang ran in.

"Ari!" Hiei cried.

"Hiei!" Ari gasped, running for him. Nenin grabbed her.

"Not so fast..."


	53. Chapter 53 Icicle and Nenin

Nenin started, but he was cut off by Icicle.

"Let her go!" She snapped, wondering if he might... Nenin glared at her...but let Ari go. Ari ran to Hiei, and Icicle walked over to Nenin.

"Why...why did you let me cut you open yesterday?" Icicle asked, growling. "And why did you let her go when I told you to? You are stronger than me."

"...That may be so, but you order me without fear. It is with that, that I..." He paused. "That I..." Then he frowned. "Why am I telling you this? Beat me and find out!" He got into a battle position. Icicle didn't move.

"That you what?" She asked, coldly. Nenin sat up and sighed.

"Shut up and fight! Or are you scared?" He growled. Icicle charged him. Everyone followed her, but Nenin made a shield from everyone, and blocked her attack.

"I want to finish her alone." He growled. "You all stay out. I want to finish her one on one. It's the most honorable thing."

"..." Everyone frowned. What was he doing?

"Why does honor matter to you?" Icicle asked, parrying his attack. "You kidnapped my friend, and snuck into their mansion to act like their friend, only to double cross them! Why does honor matter now? It never mattered before!"

"...You are different. That's why it matters." He frowned, attacking her again. Icicle dodged.

"...You're barely trying." She pointed out. "What are you trying to prove?"

He stopped, with a frown. He wheeled around, and left. Ari blinked.

"WHAT?" Ari cried. "That's IT?"

"..." Ashley smiled. "He doesn't want to fight her. Can't you see? He doesn't want to hurt her. He likes her..."

"Sap." Arika rolled her eyes. "Mush. Ewww..."

Ari and Chetara laughed. Icicle frowned at them.

"What's so funny?" She snapped.

"MUSH!" Ari cried, laughing.

"...?" Icicle frowned. "What?"

They laughed even harder. "Tree sap! Upside your head!" Ari laughed.

Arika smacked her in the face. "Nope. Upside YOUR head."

Ari smacked her back. "Upside your head...Wanna dance?"

"YEAH!" Arika grinned, spinning Ari so fast that she flew across the room. Ari laughed.

"Wee!" She laughed. Nenin came back in again.

"DOG PILE!" Chetara yelled, pouncing on Ari. Ashley and Arika lept for her too.

"OOF!" Ari cried, laughing so hard she was crying. Icicle turned and stared at Nenin. He lifted his hand and there was an energy transfer. His to Ari. A dark black stream passed the air into Ari, swathing her and her friends. He was returning her powers.

(Why I'm doing it, I'll never know...) He frowned. (But...I want to kill them fairly...)

"Go." He ordered finally. Icicle stared at him, and he soon met her eyes, a bit unwillingly.

"..." She didn't say a word, just drilled her gaze into him. He closed his eyes.

"I said go." He repeated.

"Closing your eyes is dangerous." Icicle pointed out. "I could kill you now."

"But you won't." He smirked.

"Why won't I?"

"It's dishonorable." He smirked.

"Who cares?" She shot back.

"...you do." He smirked, and Icicle paused.

"...well...so?" She retorted. "More than I can say for you!"

He nodded, raising an eyebrow. "I know. But you all need to leave."

"Go ahead." Icicle called. "I'm not."

Everyone watched them.

"Did you hear me, josei?" Nenin growled. "GO."

"I heard you, shonen." Icicle growled back. "And iie."

He grabbed her arm, and flung her towards her friends. "Leave."

"Iie!" She snapped. "I'm staying right here!" (A/N: Iie is no, that's actually two i's, and josei is another form of the word girl, and we all know shonen.)

Nenin's head snapped behind him. "...! GO!" He yelled, growling. "NOW!"

Icicle's eyes got wide, and she nodded slowly. "We'll resolve this next time we meet."

With those as her words, they all ran out.

They all continued running until they were back at the mansion.


	54. Chapter 54 Exaustion and Neurotic

Ari flung herself on the couch, exausted. They all sat down somewhere in the main room, deep in thought. Icicle went straight to her room, and the girls palled around.

"Ha!" Ari cried, shoving a pillow over Chetara's head. Arika whacked Ari in the head, making her drop her pillow. Ashley was attacking Arika, who was being attacked by Chetara. Ari felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to look.

It was Kuro, who was smirking with a vengence. Ari got whacked in the head, and yelled for them to stop. She hugged Kuro.

("Hiiii!") She squealed. ("Wow, hi! I haven't seen you in...wow.")

Kuro shook his head. ("I know, I had to scrape your extra output energy just to come here and say hi, do you have any idea how much it sucks being stuck in Hiei's shadow?")

Ari gave him ample energy to remain, and pondered that a minute. ("...nope.")

("Didn't think.") He nodded, sitting on the couch next to the girls.

"Ooo," Arika blinked. She poked him, and he squirmed. She poked him again. He squirmed again. She grabbed him and the remaining girls took turns hitting him with a pillow.

("...! Help!") Kuro blinked.

("Uh uh! You're on your own!") Ari grinned. "Get him!"

It raged on into a full fledged fight. Finally, after he seemed to be tormented out, Ari made them let Kuro go. She laughed, and shook her head.

"Well, that's that!" She laughed.

("Witch.") Kuro growled.

Ari laughed, watching him adjust his hair. ("Poor, poor Kuro.") She teased. ("So high maintence...")

He growled. Hiei glanced at him, as if to say, You're my shadow? Really?

Ari yawned. "You know, I'm exausted. Completely. Tired to the point of..."

"Dinner!" One of the ogres called. ZOOM! Ari ran past him so fast, he spun on his heels like a figure skater.

"Guess she's not that tired." Chetara remarked. They followed her into the kitchen where she was waiting for them.

"YAY! Come on, let's eat, I'm starving!" Ari grinned. Everyone sighed, and smiled wearily. Shaking their heads, they sat down to dinner.

A few plates later, Ari rose. "That's all I can handle...I'm exausted."

("Night, Ari.") Kuro smiled.

"Night." Ari yawned.

---------------------------

Ari woke up early the next morning, and yawned. (Doesn't everyone?) She stood up, sleepily. Brushing past Hiei, who was sitting there, watching her, she grabbed an outfit, and walked into the bathroom.

"Hey Hiei." She murmured.

"Hn."

A few minutes later, she came out. She looked beat down. Hiei blinked at her.

"..."

Ari yawned, and walked past him, heading for the kitchen. She sat at the table with everyone else.

Chetara blinked. "What's she doing up so early?"

Ari grabbed the cereal box, and fell asleep just like that. Face down, arm outreached. Everyone exchanged glances. Hiei came in and glanced at her.

"...!" He blinked. He shook her awake.

"NOO!" She whined loudly. "I don't want to buy any of your dope!"

Everyone froze. She knocked his arm away. Hiei tried again.

She lifted her head, half awake. "Wha-?"

"Go back to bed." Hiei growled.

Ari yawned. "Not yet. I'm almost awake..." She layed her head back down.

Chetara growled and grabbed her arm. "ARI!"

"Join the dark side..." Ari muttered. "Our leader's sexy."

Chetara dropped her arm. "Where that came from, I have no idea, and I don't care to know. Leave her there."

She walked back around the table and continued to eat her breakfast. Everyone ignored Ari's presence from there on.


	55. Chapter 55 Ari and Kuronue

"So, what are we planning on doing about Nenin?" Kurama asked, with a sigh. "He did get away, after all."

Icicle frowned. Nenin...

"There isn't anything we can do except train." Hiei remarked, looking around the table. "Nenin's strong. Much stronger than any of us. AND there's someone even stronger in that castle."

"Cookies and toilet paper are the nessessities of life." Ari remarked, sleepily.

"Even STRONGER!" Yusuke blinked.

"Yup. I sensed it too." Kuwabara nodded, looking for the milk. "Being as great as I am...Pass the milk."

"I see you're drinking 2...Is that because you're fat?" Ari remarked, still asleep.

"Would someone shut her up?" Kuwabara growled, snarling over his bowl of cereal.

Kurama chuckled, and handed Kuwabara the milk, which was actually 2...

Chetara snickered. "She's neurotic...an avid sleeptalker."

"I can tell. Shut her up." He growled.

"I hope someone stabs you in the eye with a really hot french fry!" (Guess who?)

"...Huh. Foamy." Chetara remarked, with a laugh.

"Wha?" Everyone frowned.

"Woah! Look out! Gettin' high off the cream cheese!"

Chetara shook her head. "Uh oh. Foamy dream, this isn't gonna end well. Someone wake her up."

"Why?" Kurama frowned, looking puzzled.

"Long story, I'll explain later, just wake her up." Chetara reached out, but Hiei beat her to it.

"Wake. Up!" Hiei growled, shaking her. Ari cracked an eye, blurry eyed. She shook her head, and looked around at everyone, who was staring at her intently, like they wanted the answer to life.

"..." Ari yawned. "Why do I want a bagel?" She groaned, laying her head down. Her long hair was all over her section of the table as she layed her head on it.

"DON'T go back to sleep." Hiei growled. Ari sighed, and sat up, slouching.

"What'd I do...?" Ari frowned.

"...nothing." Chetara shrugged. "Hungry?"

"Starving." Ari reached for the cereal box, but this time it reached her bowl.

"Wearing...the Kuronue outfit again today?" Kurama remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hm?" Ari frowned. "Oh, yeah. I figure if I don't want to be recognized as neko princess, I can be seen as..." She dropped to an announcer falsetto. "Ari. Demon Accomplice to-not one, but two-of the greatest bandits of all time."

Kurama chuckled.

"Talk about a double life, huh?" Ari remarked, munching on her cereal.

Chetara shrugged, with some confusion. "I always wondered why you snuck off to meet this guy...Turns out he was a famous bandit."

"Mmm, yeah." Ari sighed, fondly. "After...you know...the thing..."

Kurama nodded, inviting her to go on.

"What happened to him after that? I mean, how did he die?" Ari frowned, looking slightly sad.

"Well...not long afterwards, he and I went out on another theft. We got in, easily. It was a no problem mission. Cakewalk. Then, we headed out, and it turned out we had walked right into a trap. They got him, and he was screaming at me to escape, and I managed to escape." Kurama sighed.

"oh." Ari became deeply involved in her cereal. Hiei was fuming where he was. He glared at Kurama, then Chetara. Then, he watched Ari. "So, it wasn't my fault...?"

Kurama shook his head. "Of course not. We both fell into that trap." (Hiei glared at him.)

Ari nodded, and sighed. "I still don't understand why I liked him so much...Maybe it's because the life I experienced with him was so different from the life I had BK..." (Hiei glared at her.)

"BK?" Kuwabara asked, stupidly. (Then Hiei growled at Kuwabara.)

"Before Kuronue." Chetara rolled her eyes. Ari sighed. She finished her bowl. (Hiei glared at Chetara.)

"I'm going to go train..." Ari smiled, looking shaky. She ran off, into the depths of the woods.

Hiei growled, and eyed them all.

"It's OK..." Chetara frowned. "She left him. In the end. Took all she had."

"What?" Yusuke and Kuwabara blinked. "She obviously cares about him alot...still, so why...?"

"No one knows but her, and Kuronue." Kurama smiled, with an air of helpfulness. "He wouldn't say, and she obviously won't either."

Chetara shrugged. "She never told me. Moody neko. That's all I can say about it."


	56. Chapter 56 The Plan, and Blackmail

A few hours later, they all joined her outside in the woods to train. Ari smiled happily at them, and they all started to train together.

They all trained together for a few hours before Ari had to leave in a hurry. She had a sudden idea that seemed to require her whole attention.

Someone spoke up from the back of the clearing. "Sky eyes, man! What'd I say? Told ya!"

Everyone turned to look at Kuwabara, who looked to be proving a point to Yusuke.

Yusuke shrugged. "Ah...I guess you're right. It's still stupid, though."

"What are you talking about?" Chetara frowned, glaring at the idiots who were still arguing about who was right.

"Ari. She has these huge sky eyes." Kuwabara repeated, like THEY were the stupid ones.

"Would you mind explaining what you mean by 'sky eyes'?" Kurama frowned, getting slightly irritated.

"People who's lives are so full of sadness and pain that it actually becomes a part of their soul and it makes their eyes look sad and distant, like they have a part of the sky in them." Kuwabara explained, making a complicated explaination easy. "Sky eyes."

Everyone frowned, thinking about this. He wasn't right...but not wrong either...

"And where did you hear about this?" Kurama frowned, looking at him pointedly.

"It was in my sister's Supernatural Sightings and 12 Other Mystical Oddities book." Kuwabara explained, with a bashful grin. "I had to be all secretive about it, though, because she woulda knocked my block off if she'd have seen me with it."

Everyone exchanged glances and then rolled their eyes at him.

"Yeah, whatever. Supernatural. That's ridiculous." Ashley rolled her lavender eyes, mocking Kuwabara the Fool.

"Look, baka, whatever stupid thing you're saying, save it for when we're not training for our lives," Chetara growled, causing him to get fearful of the feral wolf. "Unless you want to die in the near future."

Kuwabara nodded, then mouthed, "You owe me 10 bucks," to Yusuke, then went back to his life-or-death training.

Everyone mocked Kuwabara and made fun of what he'd said, but when they started training again, they thought long and hard about what he'd said, all of them, and knew that Kuwabara's comment perfectly described Ari's eyes.

---------------------------

"Ok, this can happen one of two ways." Ari said, pacing back and forth. She was talking to Kuro, who was watching her, totally confused. "One, you can kill me, and then try to revive me afterward,"

Kuro got wide eyed, his mouth hanging open in total shock. ("WHAT?!?!? NO WAY!")

"Or," Ari continued, keeping her smirk off her face. "I can go to Koenma and tell him what needs to be done."

("...Why does this need to be done?") Kuro asked, sighing deeply with relief. ("And what are you doing again? I forgot.")

"I am going after Kuronue. I need to face my...inner demon and that's Kuronue. I need to...solve this eternal battle within myself." Ari sighed. "I feel like once I settle the score with him, I can be free. I need to stomp his butt all over the demon plane."

Kuro snickered at her usage of her last sentence. ("Good luck.")

Ari nodded, smiling gratefully. "Thank you. So you think that's what I should do?"

("It's much better than me killing you and Hiei hating me for the rest of his existance,") Kuro nodded, not even thinking of the possibility of maybe not being able to revive her.

"Ooh, good point." Ari nodded, grateful she'd talked to Kuro. "Alright, I'm heading off now. See ya...hopefully."

Kuro saluted her playfully. ("Come back alive, girl!") He called to her as she left, nervous about what could come.

"You want to what!?!?" Koenma cried, shocked. His eyes were wide and he was totally thrown. This was by far, the weirdest turn of events yet.

"I want you to let me into the demon plane." Ari frowned, glowering at him. "There's an old...friend...of mine that I need to talk to."

"I can't just let you run into the demon plane and go calavanting around talking to 'old friends'!" Koenma shouted, his face turning bright red, with the little vain on his forehead.

"Look here." Ari growled, slamming her fists on the table. "Since his death, my 'old friend' has ruined my life! His memory haunts me, as do all the things I never got to tell him. I need in."

Koenma frowned, thinking about it. "I can't. My father would be furious."

Ari chuckled, suddenly smirking with an idea of how to make him comply. "And what if I tell HER your secret?"

Koenma blinked, then winced, realizing what she had planned. "..."

"What would be worse, hm?" Ari grinned, feeling very evil. "I could tell that teenage girl you've been seeing that her new 'friend' is actually a..."

"Ok!!! Ok, alright, fine! You win. 30 minutes!" Koenma groaned, jumping to the task she'd given him. "George! Open the door!"

Ari strolled past him, smirking. "You can do anything with the right leverage."

"Wait!" Koenma cried, in a panic. Nothing could happen to her. First, his father. Second, there would be Hiei to deal with. "Wear this." He handed her a watch and she put it on. "You can't stay there over 30 minutes, or else it'll try to claim you."

"Thanks." Ari grinned, looking at the little com-screen watch. She entered the plane, and blinked in astonishment. Yikes! This place was HUGE. ENORMOUS! How was she going to track that devil down?


	57. Chapter 57 Demon Plane

Hey, everyone. Guess what? Wish me a happy anniversary. ...Of this story!!! Yeaaahh. Maikai Thieves hit it's 1 year anniversary on Halloween!! W00t!! Heh, sorry, a little excited. I want lots of reviews, and...um...I really kind of want you all to tell me Happy Anniversary, but you don't have to! I love all of you! You're all awesome people, and friends of mine JUST because you cared enough to make it this far. If you want to add me to Myspace, MSN, or Yahoo, PLEASE feel free, my info's on my profile page!

(W/ Love)  
Ari

Ari looked around, nervously. This place was phenominally large, and to the max with hundreds of thousands of solid white blobs. She fidgeted with the watch a second or so and Koenma appeared on it.

"Different than you thought, isn't it?" Koenma rolled his eyes, at the panicked look on Ari's face.

"Very different. If everyone here's a white blob...how do I find MY white blob?" Ari asked, feeling incredibly stupid.

"Well, how strong was he?" Koenma asked, with a sigh. He was tired of this already.

"He was A class."

"Oh, his soul should have a form, then. Keep going straight ahead." Koenma's face said, and then it closed.

Ari kept walking. The further she walked, the more form the blobs took. Soon they were white figures. Then, the further she walked, the more color drained into them.

"How far am I?" Ari asked, buzzing Koenma.

"...High...B." Koenma nodded.

"Thanks."

Ari kept walking. When she hit A, she could tell. They had voices.

"Hey honey!"

"Sweetheart, I think you're in the wrong place!" Another guy called. Ari blew them off.

"Can I help you?" Another one asked.

"Yeah, maybe. I'm looking for a certain guy." Ari fidgeted. "Kuro...nue?"

"...You're here to see HIM?" The guy blinked. "Well, whatever. He is...that way." The guy pointed left instead of ahead. Ari took left, and she soon froze for shock and fear and disbelief. There he was. Kuronue.

True to his nature, Ari thought with a snarl, he had two or three women around him. Ari stood there, in the pose only mastered by a woman who's about to chew out her man. When Kuronue saw her, he froze, blinked, then looked around at the women. They were both thinking the same thing. Kuronue spoke up, with a wince.

"...How'd you die?"

"I didn't." Ari growled. "Nice to see you're getting along here without me. Let me guess, you're not even considering reincarnation, right?"

Kuronue blinked. "Princess, I haven't seen or talked to you in...maybe 20 years, and I'm still being chewed out?"

"Darn right!" Ari snapped. "I still hate you, and don't call me that!"

Kuronue sighed. "Are you never going to forgive me?"

"..." Ari sighed. "That's what I came here to do, but I don't know if I can now."

Kuronue sighed. "Princess..."

"No, now I want to talk." Ari growled. "You... are... indescribable! You are a liar, cheater, betrayer, thief. And worse, after all that, you still haven't apologised to me. Or, if you'd done incarnation, you could have tried making it up to me. You ruined everything!"

"..." Kuronue blinked, turning his head. "...Done?"

"No!" Ari snapped. "By the way, where's your tramp? She left you when it came time for her to die, huh?"

"..." Kuronue blinked. "Ok, done NOW?" He repeated.

"Yes." Ari sighed and covered her head.

"I ruined everything?" Kuronue shook his head. "Not me. You're the one who won't let go and forgive. I made one mistake. Forgive and forget, there's nothing to be done for the past."

"That's why you're not going up to be reincarnated, isn't it?" Ari snapped.

Kuronue grinned, weakly. "Nah, I just like it here. No nagging women."

"Ooo, you're lucky you're dead."

Kuronue chuckled. "Ouch, is that a threat, Princess?"

Ari growled.

"Ok, now, I'm sorry, and...hey, have you met up with Youko over there?" Kuronue asked, brightly.

"Yeah." Ari chuckled. "Chetara is dating him. Steady. He hasn't had a girlfriend since your death..."

Kuronue blinked, wide eyed. "Woah."

"Yeah, woah. If I'd known they were meant, I would have hooked them up back when..." Ari shrugged.

Kuronue frowned, thinking a minute. "Did you get my note?" He finally asked.

"What note?" Ari asked, suspiciously.

"The one that I put in-"

Koenma came onscreen of the watch. "HEY! YOU GOTTA GET OUT OF THERE! FAST!"

"Why? How much time?" Ari yawned.

"10 minutes!"

"Hey!" Kuronue blinked, jumping up. "Tell Youko, that I'll be waiting here for him, but he'd better not come around here soon, and that our plans are out the window, but that he seems to be making quite a life for himself. Oh, and tell him to warn all the vixens and sluts that I'm going to be back soon."

"OH!" Ari jumped up. "Will do, but you better not! I have to go, you enjoy your sluts, and you'd better be gone by the time I get back! I don't want to see you again." She growled.

Kuronue laughed as Ari fled for the exit.

----------------------------------------------------

Ari barely made it out. Opening her eyes, she realized she hadn't actually went in to the demon plane...it was her soul. She felt drained, and dazed. "...give me a minute." She managed to tell Koenma before zonking out.

Hiei found her there, asleep in Koenma's office.

"Please take her." Koenma said, from behind his paperwork. "I cannot concentrate with her going on about all manner of things."

Hiei frowned, but he carried her out and to her room. She slept there all day and night.


	58. Chapter 58 In retrospect, and a message

The next morning, Ari awoke. She smiled, and yawned. With a jolt, she realized her head was completely clear. Crystal. She wasn't fretting about what she needed to do, she wasn't conserned about what nots, and has been, and what was. Her mind was focused on the future, and what it held. She stood up, and walked into the kitchen.

"Hey! Morning!" Ashley was in the kitchen, getting her breakfast. "Did you enjoy your..." She consulted a clock. "20 hour sleep?"

Ari nodded. "Yup. Alot of things came into retrospect..."

Ashley blinked. "Came into what?"

"Nothing. I'll take some of that." Ari yawned, plopping down on a stool.

She soon finished her breakfast and walked into the den, where everyone was gathered.

"Hey, rodent catcher!" Arika called. "Enjoy worrying the (beep) out of us?"

"No." Ari stuck out her tongue. "I was...sorting things out. Putting things in retrospect, and where they belong and whatnot."

"What kind of things?" Kurama asked.

"Personal things." Ari replied, sitting on the couch. Hiei flitted into the room. He glanced at her, glared at her, and then he sat down.

"Hi." Ari turned to him. "How are ya?"

"...Hn." He rolled his eyes.

"You're mad at me?" Ari squeaked. "Fine, I don't care, be like that." She turned away from him and crossed her arms. They both sat like that for a long time.

"...Uh, Ari?" Chetara spoke up.

"Yah?" Ari turned back to Chetara. "Sup?"

"This...retro-whatever." She frowned. "Did it involve almost killing yourself?"

"..." Ari blinked. "Now, where would you get that idea? Of course not. I would never."

Hiei immeadiately relaxed.

"Why?" Ari asked.

"Well, it's just everytime you come up with a solution to something, someone is a hair's breadth from getting killed or hurt." Chetara shrugged.

"Nah, not this time." Ari waved her off.

"Like the whole tom thing. He wouldn't back off you, or leave you be, and when he tried to seduce you with the catnip, you overdosed on purpose." Chetara shook her head. "And almost killed him, and yourself, and an apartment full of ningens."

"I know." Ari repeated, with a growl as if to say, shut up. "Everyone is safe and sound, and no one got hurt this time."

"Alright." Chetara nodded. No one suspected what she'd done. Ari started playing with the new abilities she'd stolen while she was over there. With a frown, she thought about her dream. Kuronue had went to Koenma, and announced that he wanted to be a candidate for reincarnation.

Frowning, she spin an dark electric ball around and around. She shook her head. (No. No frowning. Not anymore.) She smiled, and flipped the ball at the ceiling, surging out the power for the whole breaker.

((((A/N: A breaker is a thing used in the powerbox to make sure you don't use a super excessive amount of energy in a room. It connects the power and everything. When too much energy goes through it, it shorts out, and you get no power through it. A breaker can be connected to three or four rooms at once. It's like a little metal clip, sometimes copper. You can put a penny as a replacement breaker, but that's bad because it can't shut off when you use too much power, and it may melt and ruin the powerbox.))))

"Whoops." Ari said, in response to the angry yelling at her.

Five minutes later, once Kurama had fixed the breaker for the den, kitchen, and the downstairs bathroom, everyone continued to rib Ari about why she'd done that.

"It's like you weren't even thinking!" Chetara snapped.

Ari bit her lip. (Tell Kurama now?) "Hey, Kurama. Thanks for fixing that. Sorry you had to. When you get a moment, I have a message from above for ya."

Everyone stared at her.

"What do you mean?" Kurama asked, with a frown.

"I'd rather not say here, because I'd be accused of saying or doing something stupid."

"You just did!" Chetara growled.

"Ok, fine. He said he'll be waiting for you, but you'd better not come by for a really long time. Your plans are out the window, but you're making quite a future for yourself, and um..." Ari closed her eyes. "Oh, right!" She opened her eyes. "He said to warn the women that he's going to be back real soon."

There was a long silence from everyone.

"Who did?" Chetara looked puzzled.

"I think your sleep made you a little crazy." Yusuke laughed.

"Well, actually he said, '...tell him to warn all the vixens and sluts that I'm going to be back soon.' " Ari tilted her head.

Kurama blinked, looking shaken. He sat on the couch.

"See? This is why I wanted to tell him without y'all, cuz I look crazy!" Ari sighed. Suddenly, she laughed. "True to his nature, he had a woman on each arm, and one on his lap."

Kurama stared at her a second, then his look of shock changed, and slowly became a grin. "Heh."

Ari started grinning, finally collapsing into laughter. "Yeah! And-and, you should have seen the look on his face when he saw me. He was flirting with the three of them, he looked up, and looked like a deer in the headlights." Ari laughed, hysterically. "Then he looked around at them, and back to me, and said, 'How'd you die?' "

Kurama was laughing now. "He hasn't changed."

"No, and he had the nerve to insult me!" Ari laughed. "He said he, and I quote, 'Liked it here, no nagging women.' "

Kurama had his hands over his face, laughing. Everyone stared at them, confused.

"And I told him that he was lucky he was dead." Ari nodded. Kurama choked, and continued laughing. Finally, when they'd calmed down, Chetara growled at Ari.

"Ok. What'd you do? Really."

"Um...Blackmailed the Prince, snuck into the demon plane, met up with an old friend, turned enemy, turned friend, almost got my soul killed and or stuck in...uh, the afterlife." Ari frowned, deep in thought.

"We meant the truth." Yusuke snapped.

"I think that was the truth." Kuwabara blinked.

"ARI!" Chetara yelled. Ari leapt up, and ran for the safety of her room, chased by an angry ookami the whole distance.


	59. Chapter 59 A Beach?

"YOU beep beep beep beep!" Chetara was yelling, angrily. "LET ME IN!" She was beating on the door, and snarling.

"Uh...no." Ari replied.

There was a continuous beating and finally nothing. "Fine!" Chetara yelled. "You beep beep beep can just beep and...!"

"Ahem." Kurama cleared his throat nonchalantly.

Chetara jumped, and whirled. "Kurama! Hey!..." She smiled, slightly.

"Are you...ok?" Kurama smiled, confused.

"Mmm...fine." She whined. "She won't let me in."

Kurama shook his head. "Why am I not suprised...?"

"Can you get me in?" Chetara asked, more cheerfully.

"I could, but I don't do break ins..." Kurama said, getting a good look at the ceiling.

"That's good!" Ari yelled. "Because if you let her in, she's going to kill me officially! And then the whole Neko navy and militia will be at your doorstep, shooting you in the head, because you aided in my murder. And you don't need that."

Kurama blinked. Chetara banged on the door a few more times.

"Shut up!" She yelled.

There was a scuffling noise, and Ari yelled, "Don't you let her in here!"

Kurama sighed. Shaking his head, he decided to just walk away.

A few weeks later, Ari came out of her room, carrying a cell phone.

"Mmm-hm." She nodded. "Already?...I'm impressed! I can't wait to see it."

Everyone exchanged glances. See what?

"Yeah." Ari nodded. "I'm going to stop by today!...Now! Yeah, you followed them to the letter?...Good! Then, I'll be by in...20?...Good! See ya!"

Ari jumped up.

"Wait!" Chetara called. "Where are you going?"

"Meet some friends..." She grinned, innocently.

"Which friends?"

"Mizu, Jin, and Tsuchi." Ari said, sweetly.

"The water, wind, and earth masters?"

"Yah..." Ari fidgeted slightly. She ran to her room, quickly.

Everyone exchanged glances. 10 minutes later, Ari had a duffel bag, and she'd changed her clothes. A full length cloak...

"Ok, what are you up to?" Chetara asked.

"Nothing!" Ari insisted. "Really. I gotta go. See ya."

She ran out the door, quickly.

"...well, I'm going." Ashley declared.

"Yeah, me too." Chetara stood up.

Hiei stood up, too. They all stood up and chased after her.

Ari got there, where, exactly, no one could see, but there. She dropped her bag, and ran off through the brush. They heard her squeal, happily. "You guys are great! Thank you!"

They ran off through the brush to see...a beach? Ari was jumping up and down excitedly. "Thank you!" She squealed, hugging them all at once.

"Em, was nothin, Miss Ari!" Jin declared. "A bit o' fun, that be it!"

Ari laughed. "I'll bet! You guys are wonderful. When I said beach, I didn't know you were going to build...an actual beach! Like real salt water and everything! Wow!"

"That was the work of Tsuchi." Mizufrowned. "He found the right minerals and whatnot to make the beach perfect for you."

"Thank you, Tsuchi!" She hugged him. Then Mizuand Jin separately.

"Miss Ari, ya might wanna wait a day or so, and let the sand settle in there." Jin advised. "Otherwise, there won't be as much swimmin' as there'll be drownin'."

Ari nodded, with a sigh. She deflated and looked sad.

"Em, maybe Mizukin do sommat 'bout it." Jin said, quickly. Ari perked up. She turned to Mizu, and stared at him.

"Well, I'm going to need Tsuchi's help." He shrugged. "Tsuchi, pull the sand down, and I'll pull the water up..."

They did so, and the water turned crystal clear...Ari squealed and jumped up and down a few times.

"You guys are the greatest!" She grinned.

"Right, Miss Ari." Jin winked, with a grin. "We feel sommat the same way, for yer company."

Ari laughed. "Yeah, right. Y'know, you guys are my favorite guy friends?"

They laughed. "We'll bet."

Jin shook his head. "Who would believe such pleasure from a wee ball o' fur?"

Ari laughed. "It's been awhile since I was a little ball of fur..."

"Well then, how are ya, Ari? Now that yur all grown up." Jin teased.

Ari laughed. "I'm fine. I'm...thrilled! And you guys?"

"Grand altogether." Jin grinned.

She hugged them all one last time. "Thank you guys. I'll see you later."

"See you, Ari." Tsuchi said, quietly.

"I'll miss ya, Ari." Mizusaid, grinning.

"Cheers, Miss Ari." Jin grinned.

They left and Ari kneeled at the edge of the beach. Touching the water, she flinched, then grinned. She looked around. Dashing her cloak to the ground, she plunged in. The watching friends saw a purple and black streak. Hiei spotted the soft cat hair on her back, which vanished with a shimmer once she'd hit the water. Her swimming suit was a skimpy two piece. Swimming to where the water was about two foot deep, she leaned against a rock and closed her eyes, comfortably.

"Comfortable?" Chetara asked Ari, with a slight snarl. Ari jumped and shot around behind the rock.

"Chetara! They're not behind you are they?!?!?" Ari cried, freaking out.

Chetara nodded.

"Nooo! PLeease, please make them leave! Please!"

"Why?" Chetara asked.

"You know my illusion spell doesn't hold up to high scrutiny! They come over here and they're going to see right through it! Make them go away!" Ari cried.

"Right, I forgot..." Chetara rolled her eyes. Turning to the group, she sighed. "Let's go back. We can always come back and go swimming..."

"Why not now? What's she so paranoid about?" Yusuke asked, peering at her.

Ari sunk down in the water. "Stop staring at me!!" She cried.

"Come on. Let's go."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "She's always got something she's hiding, huh?"

The group turned and shuffled off, leaving a relieved Ari. Ari immeadiately put her cloak on and set off to get a better bathing suit.


	60. Chapter 60 Impaired

When she got back from having one tailor-made, she realized the whole group was there again, this being several hours later.

"Hey!" Ari grinned, more confident now.

Hiei glared at her, from where he was sitting on the sand. "Hn."

"Hey Ari."

Ari dashed her cloak to the ground. This one was...odd, by anyone's standards. It had a full back, but looked like a two piece from the front. She dived in. "Ick." She remarked, swimming to the nearest rock. "What's up?" She asked, with a grin.

"Nice swimming suit." Chetara said, sarcastically.

Ari grinned. "Thank you. I had it made...it was the best I could get, so quickly..."

"I was being sarcastic."

Ari shrugged. "Well, when you're...'impaired' you have to take what you can get..."

"Impaired?" Kurama frowned.

Ari shrugged. "So it's ugly. You try having an impaired swimming suit made in an hour without having the maker know you're impaired..."

"That would be hard."

Ari nodded. "Yeah, it was totally-"

"Impaired?" Kurama repeated.

"Yes, impaired!" Ari snapped. "Do you mind? If you know what it is, don't rub it in my face, ok?"

"I don't have a clue what it is!" Kurama blinked.

Ari was in a huff. The whole group admitted that none of them knew the neko definition of 'impaired'

"Is that cat hair?" Hiei asked, from the beach. Ari froze.

"Ummm...that's a form of impairity...it's um, where you have cat features that aren't as attractive as the ears and tail..." Ari stumbled. "Like, say...paws, and fangs. Cat hair is one, and well, you get the idea."

"What do you have?" Kurama asked.

"Impairity is not discussed!" Ari snapped. "It's bad enough being found out! If any of my neko friends heard this, I'd be forever branded and cast aside as a worthless impaired nothing! My family would disown me officially as their heir if the whole city learned that the princess is impaired!"

Ari, with a snarl, got out of the water, put her robe thing back on, and sat next to Hiei, who was still fuming at her, slightly.

"Cat hair." He leaned over and murmured it to her. Ari turned slightly pale.

"How would you know that?" Ari's voice was thick.

"Seen it." He said, boring his eyes into her.

Ari's voice caught in her throat. "When?"

"Chapter 25." He said, seriously. A/N: Lol!

"...what?" Ari frowned.

"In the tournament, when you took your cloak off, I woke up." Hiei muttered.

Ari's eyes got wide. "...And you didn't say anything?!"  
Hiei shook his head. "No."

Ari studied the sand. "This is a real good time to apologise, Hiei." Ari muttered. "I know I've been doing some real stupid stuff lately. I'm just used to handling my problems alone...and now that I have all these friends, I couldn't imagine putting any of them in danger, so I keep all of you out of it...I'm real sorry."

Hiei blinked at her. "Hn."

Ari snuggled up next to him. Hiei stiffened. Ari blinked. "You're still mad?!?"

"Slightly." He frowned, flatly. He pushed her back to where she was sitting up by herself, instead of leaning on him.

Ari got mad. "What am I supposed to do!?!? It's been done, and I can't undo it!" She yelled, getting every person there's attention.

Hiei noticed. "Hn." He looked at her. "Ari!"

"You know what, fine! Be like that. I'm done here." Ari snapped, still yelling. She jumped up, grabbed her duffel bag, and stormed back to the mansion. Everyone just stared at her. Then they stared at Hiei, who ignored them. He even shot them his Glare of Death™. They went back to what they were doing, and he went back to sitting.


	61. Chapter 61 Many Sides of Ari

Sorry this chapter is so short, lol... I hope it makes up for my random crap I'd done the past two chapters. I was going through a beach phase, and I'm really sorry...I know you people are mad at me for writing those dumb/random chapters...sighs. I'm sorry.

* * *

When they got back, Ari was sitting there on the couch, legs crossed, filing her claws.

"What are you doing?" Ashley asked her, sitting on the opposite couch.

"Filing my claws. They're getting too long." Ari replied, glancing at Ashley.

Ashley studied Ari's 'claws'. "They don't look much like claws..."

Ari held her hand out for Ashley to look closely at.

"Oh." Ashley nodded. They were filed in an oval shape that was tapered at the end.

"Cool." Arika remarked.

Icicle yawned. She'd never even went to Ari's beach yet because she'd just woken up.

Ari shrugged. "They're pretty useful."

Hiei stormed in. "Ari!" He growled. "We need to talk."

"Oh, boy." Ari shook her head. "It's not mine."

"What?" Hiei looked puzzled.

"It's not mine; I don't have children..." Ari repeated. "Or worse...the official end of our relationship..."

"Shut up and come on!" Hiei snapped, grabbing her arm and dragging her off to his room.

"Now," He said, once they were alone. "We need to have a serious talk, wench." He growled, flinging her into a chair.

"Hey!" Ari cried.

"Shut up. You've been psycho the past few weeks, and you're driving me crazy!" He yelled. "Now, listen, I want YOU to hear this. Not all of your crazy facades. I don't want mood swinging Ari, I want the serious one."

Ari frowned, and tilted her head at him. "Alright."

"Good. Now," Hiei growled. "I can't do this if you're going to act insane."

"This what?" She tilted her head. This was _Clueless Ari_.

"This us thing." Hiei growled.

"Ohhh, that thing."

Hiei ground his teeth. "YES. THAT THING." He said, slowly through clenched teeth. "Be serious!"

Ari sighed. "Alright." She leaned back and crossed her legs. "Go for it. I'm listening, Hiei."

"I can't do this with you being insane," He repeated. "Whatever's happened to us..." He stopped; she wasn't listening. She was _Seductive Ari_ at present moment. She was leaning back in her chair, with her back curved just so and her arms rested on the armrests loosely. Her legs were crossed high, and you don't cross your legs in a micro-mini... "Ari." He growled, trying to stare at her face. "Serious..."

"I am serious. Very serious..." Ari giggled, slightly. "You can't do it when I'm insane, and whatever happened to us. I'm listening."

Hiei turned crimson. "That is not what I said."

Ari thought a minute. "Oh, you can't do THIS." She giggled, laying her hand on his arm.

"Ari." Hiei growled.

Ari sighed. "Fine, fine! Go." She crossed her arms.

"Ok. I can't do THIS when you're insane," He repeated. "And whatever's happened to us needs to be fixed. But you've been such a lunatic lately..."

"I'm a lunatic?" Ari repeated, with a growl. _Tempered Ari_...

"Yes. Serious Ari! Come on!" He growled.

Ari sighed. "Go."

"You have been a lunatic lately," He repeated.

"I swear, Hiei, one of these days you're going to wake up, and you're going to realize that...WHOOP! All the fun's gone. There wasn't any, because you just suck it right out of everything." Ari complained. _Comedic Ari_...

"Ari! Focus!" Hiei growled.

Ari nodded. "Right."

"Lunatic," He repeated. "And I just wanted to know if I should end us now, because you and I are not compatible or..."

For once since he started, Ari was deathly quiet.

"Or if we have a chance."

"..." Ari frowned. "Everything has a chance, Hiei. Somethings have higher chances than others. I don't want you to end us." She pleaded. _Intellectual Ari_. But that was better than some of the other Ari's he'd just experienced.

"What are our chances?" Hiei asked her.

"High." Ari replied. This was _Serious Ari_ now. "You are like one of my best friends, Hiei. And you can't do this. I have apologized for what I did the other day; Isn't that enough?"

Hiei frowned. He smiled. "NOW you get it."

Ari paused, thinking about it. She smiled back. "Yup...can I act normal now?" She asked, quietly.

"Go ahead." Hiei shrugged. Ari hugged him tightly.


	62. Chapter 62 Kirale, and Lia Feiale

Later, that evening, Ari was sitting at the table, bouncing about happily, waiting for the food to come. "Blooop, bloop, blooo." She made noises like a ship firing, and she was happily playing with a airship shaped shadow on the wall. It was firing shadow missles at another ship. "I name my ship, Aricraft." She'd announced proudly when she'd first designed it. She was doing a show to amuse herself, and suprisingly amusing the whole table.

("Ooo!") Kuro grinned. ("Make the Aricraft fight a whole fleet of drones!")

"Yeah!" Ari cried. The right side of the wall was full of shadow ships as she said that. The Aricraft waged war against the hundreds of ships. It fought bravely, but was soon smothered by the enemy.

"It lost." Ari replied, turning back to the amused table.

("Why'd you make Aricraft lose?") Kuro asked.

"I did not make the Aricraft lose!" Ari pouted. "If I'd had a say in it, the Aricraft woulda won!"

("Why didn't you have a say in it?") Kuro asked.

"Well, do I have a say in you?" Ari retorted. "What was that? No? Darn, right! I give 'em forms, I don't control 'em."

The food arrived. The members of the table ate their fill, and went their seperate ways.

----------------------------------------------------

Icicle was in her room, reading about quick killings when she was startled. She immeadiately tried to recoil and slice whatever it was to bits. Unfortunitely, he would not be sliced that easily. He caught her scythe. "I'm not here to fight." Nenin said, with an intense frown, and an even more intense gaze.

Icicle glared at him, but lowered the scythe. "Than what are you doing here?" She snapped. "At the mansion, or my room for that matter!"

He continued to pierce her with his unwavering and intense gaze. "Not to fight."

"Well?" Icicle growled. "What are you here to do? Or what did you come to see?"

"You." He replied. Icicle was startled.

"What?"

----------------------------------------------------

Ari was in her room, also, trying to read a gossip article on one of the most famous neko celebrities and who they're dating, when Hiei walked in.

"...Hn?" He eyed her.

"Hey, Hiei." Ari replied, distantly.

"Reading?"

"Yeah. Neko Realm Gossip column." Ari elaborated. "Appearently, Arlene Himalayan was heard saying to be dating Robert Persian! He is such a hunk. Arlene Himalayan's sooo lucky."

Hiei glowered. "Hn. Really?"

Ari blinked, suddenly realizing she was talking to Hiei. "Hiei...you know you're my bestest friend and boyfriend, right?" Ari laughed, nervously.

Hiei's eyes glinted wickedly. "Of course..." He moved towards her.

"And I would never do anything in the realm of..." Ari swallowed. Hiei was still moving towards her. Ari set the magazine down. "In the realm of..." Hiei slipped his shoes off, climbed on the bed, and ended her nervous chattering. He simply kissed her. Ari relaxed, and let the kiss happen slowly. She'd almost forgotten how to kiss, it'd been so long.

----------------------------------------------------

The next few days were relaxed. The lost love between Hiei and Ari was restored, Icicle seemed to be more relaxed and slightly more cheerful.

Ari was sitting on the couch, joking with someone about something dumb, as she always was. She stood up, and in front of the window.

"And she yelled, like, reallly, reallly loud, and said..." Ari started, with heavy gestures. Something flew through the window and landed on Ari's chest, knocking her back. "OOF!"

It was Shadow. "MREEAR!" Shadow said.

"Ooh." Ari complained, holding her chest. She leapt up on her and started licking and biting her. "Stop, Shadow!" Ari complained, pushing her off. "Heel! Cease! Desist!"

The group exchanged amused glances.

"Is that thing yours, Ariana?" Came a male voice from the window. Ari turned to look.

"OMG!" Ari screeched, jumping up, excitedly. She turned to the silent group, and a furious Hiei. "I will return after these words..." She started shouting something over and over running out the door.

What she was yelling was, "Kirale! Kirale!" Which was the boy's name. She tackled him.

"Ohhh, great..." Chetara groaned.

"Heh, nice to see you too, Ariana!" Kirale grinned. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Ari turned and saw the group staring at her. Hiei was glowering.

"Ooh, right. That's Kurama. You know Chetara..."

"Kirale..." Chetara studied the ground. Her voice was full of contempt. "How...nice to see you again."

"Arika, Ashley, Icicle, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and my boyfriend, Hiei." Ari made a sweeping gesture and stood up.

"Wait, that's too many! Which one's the boyfriend?" Kirale blinked.

Ari stood next to Hiei. "This is Hiei!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm a friend of Ariana's." Kirale grinned, walking over to shake Hiei's hand. Hiei would have none of it. Hiei just took Ari's arm, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hn." Hiei raised an eyebrow at the guy.

Kirale laughed. "Wow, Ariana, you sure know how to pick the boys with manners, huh? There was that really suspicious one that you dated last and now here's Mr. Charming..."

Ari rolled her eyes. "Kuronue was not suspicious! And Hiei...well, It wasn't just his charm that got my attention."

"Let me guess, it was his lack of attention for you that got your attention?" Kirale asked. He grinned. "Amongst the other things..."

Ari laughed. "Now, hey! Don't even go there!"

"Oh, you haven't then?" Kirale looked puzzled. "Well, this is you, I suppose, you think you've got her down, and then she changes what she is on you. None of us'll ever understand her!" He laughed. "Well, are you going to invite me in, or what?"

Ari laughed. "That'd be up to my friends."

"For a little while would be fine." Kurama frowned. Chetara groaned.

He walked in and sat. Ari sat near him. "How have you been?" Ari asked him.

"Good, and you?"

"Fine." Ari grinned. "I settled the score with Kuronue, have a boyfriend, lots of friends, my FREEDOM."

"That's better than anything you could have had back home." Kirale laughed. "Myself, included."

Ari nodded, happily.

"Can we ask why you're here?" Chetara growled.

"Oh, well, actually, the kingdom needs their princess." Kirale shrugged. "They're getting suspicious, going so long without seeing Ariana."

Ari sighed. "I don't wanna go back!" She pouted, stomping her foot.

"I know you don't," Kirale laughed. "Who knows you as well as I? But I can guarantee you, it won't be long before you can come back here. Just show up, make an appearance for Lia Fèial, wave to a couple of people, look cute as you always do, and you'll be home within three days!" He assured her.

"Lia Fèial?" Yusuke asked.

"It's a neko holiday. Their favorite holiday." Ari sighed. (A/N: Lea-Fe-All, lol) "Mine too, I was really wanting to go to Lia Fèial, but not as the Princess!"

"Why would YOU go to Lia Fèial?" Chetara snapped, growling. "You have Hiei!"

"Not for that!" Ari snapped back. "I'd go for the tourist stands, food, and the friendly people!"

"..." They watched this exchange.

"Ari!" Hiei growled, shutting her up.

"Yes, Hiei?" Ari smiled.

"Explain."

Ari fidgeted. "Wellll, I was going to go, but we started dating so I decided not to go, but that didn't mean I didn't want to go!"

"Ari. What goes on there?" Hiei snapped.

"It's a neko matchmaking festival!" Ari yelled. The room fell silent. Ari turned to Kirale. "Actually, I think I am going to go. Count me in."

"Fabulous." Kirale grinned. "It starts day after tomorrow, and I think we should get you back to the palace today and prepare you for Lia Fèial."

"Of course." Ari nodded. Hiei stuck his arm out, stopping her.

"Wait!" Hiei frowned. He eyed Kirale, still mad about the 'including me' comment. "I'm going."

"Me too!! I love your mansion!" Ashley grinned.

"I'm coming." Arika frowned.

Everyone else agreed that they wanted to come. Ari sighed.

"Okay, fine, if you insist, but don't complain to me if you wind up feeling suffocated...I always do." Ari shrugged.


	63. Chapter 63 Castle Welcome

Later, they were headed for Ari's mansion. Ari was staring out the window of her electric vehicle/limo, and Hiei was looking around suspiciously.

"There's alcohol in here." Hiei piped up.

"Mine!" Arika shrieked, grabbing the bottle.

Ari took it from her. "Actually, that's my parents'..." She put it back.

Hiei eyed her. "In YOUR limo?"

Ari crossed her arms, and ignored him, staring out the window. Kurama picked the bottle up and examined it. Opening it, he smelled it.

"Kurama!" Yusuke cried. "I didn't know you drank!"

Kurama dropped it in surprise. "I don't anymore!" He took a breath. "I was just wondering something. Why do your parents have a thief-made brand of 180 proof whiskey?"

Ari glowered at him. He got the hint, and tucked it back under the seat.

"...I needed it..." Ari frowned. "My home drives me crazy! Surely you all know that."

"Hm..." Kurama frowned. "Bad habit learned by thieves?"

"From." Ari corrected. "By Princess, from thieves."

Kurama smiled. "When you were with us, you were a thief. None of us knew you were a princess..."

"Hey, share that." Arika ordered. "Stuff. I want some."

"No way, you all can just suffer." Ari shrugged.

Arika was glowering now. "Fine!"

Hiei growled and turned to the window, also. She always had to lie, and decieve...Did she ever tell the truth the first time around?!?!

----------------------------------------------------

They got back and people immeadiately rushed to the limo to help Princess Ariana. They rolled out red carpet, and gathered around the door, expecting to let her out.

Ari looked at Kurama. "You wouldn't mind passing me that bottle, would you?"

Kurama laughed. They opened Ari's door.

"Princess Ariana!" They smiled, taking her hand and helping her up and out.

"Why, you're still as young and beautiful as you were when you left!" One of the women commented. The group looked up at the HUGE place Ari lived in.

"I thought it was a walled city!" Kuwabara whispered to Yusuke.

"Me too." Yusuke nodded. They got out on their own.

The women gasped, seeing the company Ari was travelling with. Ari glared at them and they forced a smile.

"How...Charming." One of them glowered/winced. "Well, all of you come inside."

Ari closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she had the most bright, cheerful, delighted smile. "That's so wonderful of you to invite my friends inside. Please, let's do hurry, I can't wait to...see the king and queen."

"Of course, Princess Ariana." They smiled. They all headed inside and for the throne room.

"Ariana!" The Queen smiled, delightedly. "How wonderful of you to decide to come home."

"It is, isn't it? It's wonderful to see you, mother. Wonderful to see you as well, father." Ari kneeled down. "I do hope you will forgive me for my extended absence."

"Of course, Ariana." The King replied, good naturedly. "You know where your room is, I hope. And...who are these gentlemen? And ladies."

"Well, that one's my SISTER." Ari retorted, then choked. "I apologize, excuse me. Those are my friends, whom you may not remember. And these gentleman are the Reikai Tantei and those associated with them." Ari took a step back, and kneeled again.

"Of course we remember Princess Chetara." The King nodded. "She's the one who was adopted, of course. I didn't recognize her as a wolf. Your friends I don't remember, and I certainly know the Spirit Detectives. Hello, gentleman."

They exchanged looks. How do we greet royalty!?!? Ari coughed and covered for them.

"Father, where would you prefer them to sleep? Just in any room that is unoccupied at this time?" Ari frowned.

King nodded. "Yes, Ariana. Keep them close to you..." He stood up and looked at them over his shoulder. "I don't trust them." He left, and the Queen followed.

Ari looked around. "Come on."

Chetara was seething. "Lucky I didn't burn their chair down, or them down! You know I would've. You remember the tapestry..."

Ari nodded, soothingly. "Of course, I know. Good, Chetara. You need to learn to control that anger, as you once used to."

"How'd you turn back, so quickly?" Chetara frowned.

"She has many, many, different sides to her personality..." Hiei said, walking off. "She just switched to that one."

"Oh, right." Chetara nodded.

"Come on." Ari smiled, and headed for her room. She stopped there. "Any and all of these rooms are empty, you can have one to a room, or maybe two if that floats your boat."

They nodded. Ari grabbed the door handle. "I feel sick." Ari whimpered. She knew the things she'd remember once inside.

"Are you ok?" Ashley frowned.

"Fine." Ari laughed, obviously ill. She opened the door and slipped in. Looking around, she felt such a wave of nausea and sickness, she ran for her private bathroom. Once she was out of stuff in her stomach and she was just dry heaving, she walked back out. Every square inch of that was hers, at one time. There were so many memories, lining every wall. Painful memories.

"I let him go, I forgave him." Ari complained. "Why does he still haunt me?!?"

She walked around once, twice. She couldn't take it. She quickly switched to an outfit that didn't have any painful memories attached and left.

"God, you look dead." Arika commented.

"S-" Ari started to retort, then took a breath. "Oh, don't be silly," Ari giggled. "I'm fine."

"Is your room still the same?" Chetara asked.

"Mm-hm..." Ari nodded. "I had every feature memorized from when..." Ari bit her lip. "When I was bedridden that last time I was here. Darn that Cat Flu." Ari giggled.

"Lie." Chetara stared at her. "You didn't have the flu, you weren't sick, you just...layed there. Wouldn't move, wouldn't talk, wouldn't eat. No one knew what was wrong with you."

"I was sick. Why else do you think I had all those symptoms?" Ari laughed. "Silly."

"You weren't sick. We had doctors in there to check you out." Chetara stared at her, emptily. "The best of the best. You had no illness."

Ari stared back. "What are you saying? I don't remember the doctors. When did they come, and how many were there?"

"They came daily, and there were upwards at three at a time." Chetara replied. "And what I'm saying is that you were bedridden with no illness."

"Oh. Well, I must've been just out there...because I don't remember any doctors." Ari shrugged. "I must've been talking about that time I got the Cat Flu, because I memorized every feature when I had that."

"Oh." Chetara frowned.

Ari laughed again. "Well, I'm going to go find Hiei. I'll see you."

She left, in a hurry.

"She NEVER, and I mean NEVER comes up with a straight answer to that particularly strange event..." Chetara shook her head.

"Yeah, I know." Ashley frowned. "We were there. We told you when she stopped eating so you had to draw all the attention to you so Ari's problem wasn't noticed, remember?"

Chetara nodded. "I think that was right after Kuronue died."

"She's pathetic." Arika sighed. The girls nodded.


	64. Chapter 64 Like, Love, Engaged

Ari searched around and couldn't find Hiei. She walked back and into her room. She felt another wave of nausea which was squelched when she saw Hiei digging in her closet.

"Hiei?" Ari called. "What are you doing?"

He poked his head out. "Searching this castle for information. I've learned quite a bit about you."

"Like what?" Ari winced.

"When you lived here before half the time you were never here. A few months before you actually left, you stopped doing everything and did nothing for three months until you suddenly vanished." Hiei stared at her. "You were Kuronue's partner, and there's a secret passage in this room somewhere, amidst all the hidden notes, pictures and gifts."

Ari blinked. "You know about the hidden notes?"

"Hn. In the floorboards under the bed." Hiei replied, going back to digging.

"You didn't READ those did you?!?!?" Ari jumped, looking shocked. Hiei didn't say anything.

"HIEI!" Ari cried. "Leave!"

Hiei poked his head out. "No. You are an enigma. I'm not leaving until I understand you."

"You don't want to, trust me." Ari growled. "Now, get out."

Hiei stood up, brushed his cloak off, looked her in the eye, and said, "The secret passage's in the closet." He had a slight smirk on his face.

Ari stared at him. She felt deflated and...known. She didn't like it at all. "...I don't like this. Leave!"

Hiei stepped towards her. "Did you care about him?"

"Of course." Ari said, vehemently, then chose to glower at the wall.

"Love him?"

Ari paused. Love? Kuronue? She'd never thought about it.

"I don't know." Ari stared at him.

"Hn." Hiei frowned and closed his eyes. "What about me?"

"What are you asking?" Ari frowned. When he didn't respond, Ari continued. "Are you asking if I care about you or if I love you?"

"Either."

"I do care about you." Ari smiled. "Alot."

"As much as Kuronue?"

"..." Ari bit her lip. Tilting her head, she thought about it. If Hiei did what Kuronue did, then got himself killed...what would I...? "More." She said, decisively.

A smile played on his lips. "Honestly?"

Ari nodded. "I promise. I would be upset for much longer than I was if you had done what he did. At least I didn't love him. That would have killed me. Caring about him...well, that just ripped my heart out."

"I don't use mine. Take it." Hiei had a slight grin on his face.

"You do use it. You use it more than you think you do." Ari laughed. "And besides, I couldn't take it."

"..." Hiei stared at Ari's comforter. "You already did."

Ari felt jolted. In a good way. "Oh, Hiei." She smiled, feeling happy. That was wonderfully sweet. She looked around. "Um...there's some bad blood here, and spirits too. Can we discuss this elsewhere?"

"No." Hiei said, flatly. "We're here, and discussing it."

Ari blushed. Finally, some dominance! "Alright. Well, um..." She was at a loss for words. She stared at him. She found herself watching his lips. "That's the sweetest and most wonderful thing you could have said to me, Hiei." Ari smiled. She was worried to kiss him here, lest all the evil should kill her at once. God only knew how much Kuronue infested evil was here. She giggled at that thought.

"Too bad. I wasn't going for sweet." Hiei stared at her.

Ari crossed her legs. (Maybe one kiss won't kill me...if it does, it'll be worth it a hundred times...) "What were you going for?"

"Romantic." Hiei said, staring at her.

"Ohh, well, romantic stuff is the kind that ignites and excites you. Sweet makes you feel good, and just plain happy." Ari giggled. She wanted to kiss him...oh, so bad...

"Hn." Hiei stared at the ceiling. "How do I do that?"

Ari finally gave in. (If I die, I die happy.) She slid forward and pulled Hiei close to her. Leaning in, she brushed her lips across his and then switched to a deeper varity of kiss. Then she smiled at him and brushed her lips across his neck, lovingly. "Don't worry about it."

Hiei's mouth tightened now. "I'm worried."

Ari tilted her head, slightly. Huh?

"When I ask a question, I expect an answer, or I wouldn't have asked." Hiei frowned.

"Oh, well, uh..." Ari frowned, then grinned. "You've already switched to romantic."

"Hn." Hiei remarked. Ari was puzzled. What was up with Hiei?

"You know..." Ari fidgeted. "I'm tired, it's getting late...You should, maybe, just, go back to your room..."

Hiei raised an eyebrow. He decided to let it go. He shrugged. "Night." He stood up and left. Ari let out a sigh and wondered what was up.

--------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Ari yawned, and stretched. Feeling exausted, she looked up.

"Princess Ariana? Kirale said to have you up and ready to be made up..." One of the girls said, nervously. "He said we need to dress you up and do all your makeup and whatnot because you had to be out there by noon, and..."

Ari yawned. "I don't get up before 11:00." She rolled over.

"Princess Ariana! Please wake up." They begged. Ari groaned.

"Fine..."

They brought her dress over and dressed her. Ari sat there calmly and let them do what they had to.

"Call me Ari." Ari interrupted one of them.

"Of course." She blushed. "Um, Kirale said that you would put up a fuss, Ari, but you're being perfectly calm! It's suprising."

Ari shrugged. "Well, I'm only going to have to do this once, right? So it's nothing."

The girls exchanged a look, then started giggling. "Of course, Ari."

"What?" Ari was puzzled. "What do you mean? What's going on?"

"Well, we were wondering what you were planning on doing for your wedding..." One of them giggled. "I guess you're not getting made up then?"

"Wedding." Ari said, incrediculously. She didn't ask, she stated it. "What wedding?"

They exchanged looks. "Oops. You mean you didn't know?"

"To whom." Ari said, glaring at them.

"Mirion!" They giggled. Ari felt herself pale.

"Oh...no." Ari muttered. She closed her eyes. God, engaged...again. Still to the same nerdbomber as 14 years ago...would she ever get out of that??


	65. Chapter 65 Mirion

Ari came out, all fixed up. She looked completely different, Hiei barely recognized her.

"You really got worked over today." Chetara commented.

"Yeah...Where's Kirale?" Ari forced a smile.

Chetara pointed over her shoulder. "I'm glad I don't have to participate in this thing."

Kirale walked in. "Ariana! You look stunning as usual!"

Ari glowered at him for a glittering moment, then smiled her brightest. "Thank you." She walked over. "It sure took awhile..." She smiled at him. Suddenly, she hit him across the side of his head.

"OW!" Kirale yelled. "What was that for!?"

"You." Ari whacked him again. "Jerk!" She hit him again for good measure. "Now I know why you brought me back here!! Not for Lia Fèial!"

Kirale ducked away from the enraged neko. "It wasn't my fault! I was under orders! And perhaps if you saw him...!"

Ari ran after him, continually beating him. Someone walked in, and stopped to enjoy the show.

Kirale ran around, running from Ari, and Ari ran after him. Eventally, the stranger cracked up.

"Heh, toughest nekoess in the whole kingdom." The stranger remarked. Kirale made a beeline for him.

Ari looked at him, frowning. He was slightly familiar, and yet not at all. He was cute, though. Black hair, cut in Ari's favorite style, (kinda like Yusuke's when it's not slicked back) with black ears, black tail, he was tall, slightly tan, and had a boyish looking face. Ari tilted her head. Her tail made a question mark.

"Do I know you?" Ari asked him.

"You used to. I believe we used to be friends, quite a time ago." He chuckled. "Of course, that was back when you accepted the fact that we were forced to be engaged."

Ari gaped. "No...way! You're not. Seriously, stop joking! Who are you?"

"Mirion." He grinned.

"What happened to you!?!? You're adorable!" Ari cried. Mirion laughed.

"I had thought quite a bit about what you'd said shortly before you ran away, and decided that you were right, and your anger was just." Mirion laughed. "So, I used my money, influences, and connections to make myself into exactly what you would want, so that the wedding would go without a flaw."

Ari gaped. She still couldn't believe her nerdy childhood friend turned into that!

"Wedding?" The girls gasped. Hiei's eyes widened. He turned to Ari.

"Why...do I even bother?" He asked her.

"Um...because you really really care about me..." Ari said, wide eyed. She couldn't believe this. "Wait...so...you brought me here to...trap me into marriage?"

"It's not like that!" Kirale whined.

"Ariana...Ariana." Mirion shook his head. "You are always putting an unreasonable explaination to reasonably explainable things."

"Am I?" Ari looked back and forth. "I think y'all trapped me."

"No, we didn't." Mirion sighed. "Air, chill." That was her nickname.

"Look, whoever you are..." Hiei was taking a defensive stance in front of his property. "She's mine."

"Really." Mirion remarked, amused. "And how do you 'possess' a woman like Ariana?"

Woman, not girl. The bluntness of this statement was not lost on Ari. She blushed.

"..." Hiei growled.

"Well, how much are you willing to accept as price for her?" Mirion asked. "I'll offer one million for her."

"Are you...trying to buy her off?" Ashley yelled.

"Hell, he could buy me off for that much!" Arika grinned.

"No price." Hiei growled. "I won't sell her."

"But if you own her, then she's yours to sell or trade." Mirion grinned. "And there is a price every man will accept for anything, even if its for what he hoped would never sell. Now, let's hear it."

"He doesn't own me!" Ari cried. This was getting out of hand...

"No price. If she's mine to do what I like with, then I choose to keep her. I have NO wish to sell her, at any time."

"No wish, but perhaps no choice either." Mirion grinned. "You can sell her and have money, or lose her, and have nothing."

Ari sighed. (I'm an object? To be sold?)

Hiei frowned. To put it that way...

"How much were you offering?"

Ari gasped. "What?"

"Hiei!" Kurama growled. Chetara sighed. Grabbing Kurama's wrist, she pulled him close to explain what Hiei was doing...

Kurama blinked. Oh.

"One million. That's an incredible sum, even for a princess." Mirion grinned.

"But, she's not just any princess. She's Ariana Miyuki. She's worth much more than any other princess." Hiei remarked.

"True..." Mirion remarked, abashedly.

Kurama stepped forward. "We all agree you should maybe...raise to two million."

"What!?!?! That's way too much! Even Ariana's not worth two million!" Mirion yelled.

Ari's head snapped around. What!??! Everyone was agreeing on a price to sell her for??? What is this!?!?

"Two million. Take it, or the price goes up." Kurama smirked.

"Up? She doesn't increase in value in the next ten seconds!"

"She may. She's growing, and learning, and getting even more worth the money every second. So every second you stall, her price goes up." Kurama smirked.

"By how much?" Mirion winced.

"Enough to ensure that you don't want to wait..."

"Fine! Deal!" Mirion winced.

"..." Ari blinked. No way...She was...sold?

"Time for Lia Fèial!" Someone called. Ari looked around. They looked at her. There was a weird vibe in the air. But Ari didn't get the vibe. All she knew was that she was sold.


	66. Chapter 66 Oops and Pink Kitten

Ari casually gathered up her dress. With a polite smile, she looked up at the person who called. "Be right there..."

They left. Ari looked around. "..."

There was something eerie about her silence...Sure enough, she ran. Shoving her way through, she ran for the stairs and out to her carriage. Once order was restored, they went to where her carriage was, but she was long gone.

Of course, Mirion called a carriage to follow her to Lia Fèial. They all headed to Lia Fèial. It was a huge festival! Even more mushy than Valentine's Day, and a hundred times more played out, because these are nekoes...Needless to say, they all split up, searching for Ari.

After an hour of searching, Hiei finally spotted her at a honey shop. She was seated on a wooden box, with a container of honey in her hand. She was depressed, it was obvious. The moment she saw Hiei, though, she jumped up and ran. Hiei chased her well through the square, and finally caught her at a dead end.

"Ari!" He growled.

"What?" Ari sounded tired.

"What are you doing? What's wrong with you?" Hiei growled.

"I'm not leaving here until it's time, and then I'll either have to run or spend the rest of my life married and as the queen of Nekotropolis." Ari sulked.

"Is that what's wrong with you?" Hiei asked, honestly suprised.

"...YEAH!" Ari yelled. "It is!"

Hiei chuckled. "Do you really think I'd sell you?"

"...!" Ari blinked. "But...! You..."

"We're going to get him to pay up, and then we're all going to flee." Hiei chuckled. "You actually thought..."

"...I wish you guys would include me in your plans next time..." Ari pouted.

"Actually, it was a spur-of-the-moment plan...Kurama and everyone else just figured it out. But at least this way, you acted realistic. It was better that you didn't know, really." Hiei grinned.

Ari continued pouting. "I feel dumb..."

"Don't, it's just your character..." Hiei chuckled, walking off.

"Wait, what's that mean??" Ari cried, running after him. Hiei grabbed her up and swung her around when she came up next to him. He kissed her. Ari giggled, and let out a small sigh. "That's a relief."

"I bet...Someone's coming..." He set her down. "I'm gonna go, and remember, if it's your fiancee, you don't know anything about us running."

"Got it!" Ari giggled, and Hiei ran off. Nope...It was Chetara, who was ready to start yelling.

"Ari, you are such a stupid neko." Chetara growled.

"I am not..." Ari whined.

"You are. You have no idea what we just did, did you?"

"Of course I do!" (Thank you, Hiei!) Ari retorted. "We're going to get the money and run!"

"...you were acting?" Chetara raised an eyebrow.

"Of course! Obviously, you don't know me that well any more." Ari rolled her eyes.

"Hm..." Chetara frowned. "Hiei got to you first?"

"Yeah." Ari sighed.

"I thought so. You are stupid."

Ari laughed. "Some sister you are."

"You're lucky we're related, or I'd have killed you aeons ago..."

"Yeah, I know." Ari sighed. "Hey, Chetara...Why do you think Mom favored you?"

"From Ningenkai? She didn't. I was just more responsible." Chetara shrugged.

"You were not! You were favored. That's why you got that stupid dog." Ari frowned.

"No, I was more responsible." Chetara sighed. "And Flame was not a stupid dog."

"He was dumb. Don't lie to yourself." Ari looked around. "Come on, I have to get back so I can check out the secret passage in my room."

"Secret passage???" Chetara blinked. "What secret passage?"

"The one in my closet." Ari started walking for the exit.

When her and Chetara got there, Mirion was waiting for them. The whole group was there.

"Ari!" Mirion growled, grabbing her arm.

"Ow." Ari whined.

"Where did you think you were going? Running from me...You're going to be a queen, and queens have SOME dignity and royal attitude. Queens don't run from their problems." He growled.

Ari blinked. Queens don't run...?

"Now, come on." He growled, dragging her to her carriage. "We're going home."

"Let her go." Chetara snarled, lighting a fireball. He took one look at the angry ookami, and let go of Ari. Ari climbed into her carriage, and the group climbed in too, leaving no room for Mirion.

They left, and Ari simmered until Mirion couldn't see her. She dug out a bottle of her thief-made problem solver and downed half of it. Arika reached out and took the bottle from Ari's now relaxed fingers and started drinking what was left.

"I hate him." Chetara remarked. "Alot."

"I hate 'im too." Ari sighed, feeling better. "Y'know, I wonder...maybe I won't be able to get out of this..."

"What do you mean?" Chetara asked.

"Mirion's a clever tom...He'll probably insist that I marry him before y'all get your money, and once a neko's married...married till death." Ari shrugged. "Then he doesn't have to pay anyway. Y'know?"

They exchanged glances.

"Really?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah. We can't be divorced. Nekoes...We're strange." Ari shrugged. "Don't believe in seperation, or infidelity in marriage."

"Are you drunk?" Chetara asked.

"No!" Ari glared at her. "But, that's the truth. Anyway..." Ari sighed. "I'm bored...I miss the Pink Kitten, I miss Mom back in Ningenkai, I miss Dog..."

"Dog?" Kurama asked.

"The Pink Kitten?" Hiei frowned.

"Dog's my cat." Ari smiled. "Ningenkai. The Pink Kitten...I used to work there. Here. Where ever. I waitressed for awhile, then I moved up."

"Long way to move." Chetara grumbled.

Ari laughed.

"What is the Pink Kitten?" Hiei asked.

"Guy's club." Kurama explained. "Exotic Dancers...stuff like that."

Everyone stared at Kurama, who winced nervously.

"Moved up to what?" Yusuke asked.

"Exotic dancer." Ari grinned, leaning back.

There was a touchy silence, full of unasked questions. Hiei asked the first one.

"You were an exotic dancer?"


	67. Chapter 67 Drunk, and the plan

By the time they got back, everyone was well educated on Ari. "I had to pass a VERY rigorous set of tests." Ari shrugged. "The Pink Kitten is the most upscale exotic club in Nekotropolis."

"Hmm..." Yusuke frowned.

"Hn." Hiei remarked.

"It took me weeks to master my pole dancing exam." Ari shrugged. "Of course, and sneakin' out. And that's where I met Kuronue...It started with him buying me a drink, and we became friends. He didn't know I was a princess until months later. By that time, he didn't care. Then I started helpin' him and Youko with their thefts."

Everyone was listening, fascinated.

"Ok, we're here!" Ari said. "Meet in my room at midnight. We'll go through the secret passage. But first, try and talk Mirion into giving you guys the money."

Ari stepped out, and Mirion hopped out behind her. "Ari!"

"Mirion!" Ari called back. "Hiiii!!" She giggled. Everyone groaned.

"Are you feeling ok?" He asked.

"Fine..."

"You reek of alcohol...are you drunk?" Mirion asked.

"Sort of..." Ari laughed.

He sighed. "You drink?"

"From time to time." Ari ran for her room.

"Sad, that a girl of her stature would sink so low." Kurama remarked, poking his head out.

"Of course, you and that dead partner of yours helped sink her." Mirion retorted.

"We didn't have anything to do with it. We met her in a strip club." Kurama chuckled.

"She's a stripper???" Mirion gasped.

"Exotic dancer." Hiei replied. Everyone got out of the carriage.

"Interesting..." Mirion grinned.

"That, I believe, is something that would raise her worth, and speaking of, we would like you to pay us before the wedding." Kurama frowned.

"Us? No, I pay short guy there. And, not until the wedding." Mirion shook his head. "What's to say that you won't run off with her? No."

"And what's to say that you won't pay us once you marry her?" Hiei retorted.

"Trust, friend. Trust." Mirion grinned.

"So...we're going to trust you to pay us once you officially own her?" Hiei frowned.

"That's it." Mirion nodded.

"..." Hiei frowned. "Alright. When's the wedding?"

"...In...two hours." Mirion consulted a clock.

"Two?? Let's go say goodbye." They ran toward Ari's room, and Mirion followed them.

"Ari!" Hiei burst in. Ari was half dressed and obviously aware of what was going on, especially of Hiei seeing her half dressed.

"Um..." Ari blushed. Everyone else ran in, and blushed, seeing her. The guys turned the other direction. The girls quickly finished dressing her. "Alright, y'all can look."

They did. "Two hours..." Hiei winced.

They both connected everyone.

("How're we gonna get out of this??") Ari asked, obviously upset.

("We...um...") Hiei had no idea.

("How about you escape through the passage, and we just tell Mirion that we don't want to sit through your wedding and leave?") Ashley offered.

("That's borin'.") Ari sighed. ("I want a grand exit...one that the nekoes'll notice...")

("This is what we're gonna do. You just gave me an idea.") Chetara grinned. ("If you can fake it drunk.")

-------------------------------------------------

"Well? Aren't you guys going to talk?" Mirion demanded, arriving. They were all standing in silence.

"Yea, we're sayin our final goodbyes." Ari said, with a shrug. "Ya caint rush these things...they gotta come naturally."

It seemed that when Ari was drunk, her southern accent became definitely pronounced. Before it was barely noticeable, but now...

"Fine, fine." Mirion complained.

"Well, I'm gonna miss y'all." Ari sighed. "Really. But I don't want you at my (mah) weddin'."

"What?" The whole group asked, including Mirion.

"I don't want 'em at my weddin. Any of 'em. It'd be too much for me, and I don't want 'em there." Ari said. "And if you truly cared, you wouldn't allow 'em there."

"...Fine. Yes...dear." Mirion ground his teeth. "She doesn't want you there."

"Fine, we see how it is, Ari." Chetara growled, through her teeth. "We don't want to be there, anyway."

"Whatever." Ari shrugged, southernlike. "I wouldn't be able to say I do when I'm starin' at the man I love, and the friends I'll miss forever."

That was a shock. Drunk or not...They'd never stated that they were all friends. Seemed Ari was definitely able to act out the plan drunk.

"..." Mirion frowned. Love... "Ari, dear, don't be silly. You're still drunk. Of course you don't love that...boy. He sold you to me. What kind of guy is that?"

No one there understood the implications of what Ari'd said, and why Mirion was making a big deal out of it, except Chetara.

"I do." Ari said, in full on southern. "And that boy is the one I'd spend the rest of my life with, if I was given the chance."

"..." Everyone exchanged glances. Chetara started grinning. Neko rules said that if a woman was in definite love with someone, she couldn't be betrothed to a different man. That was because nekoes can't be divorced, and they wanted as few problems as possible.

"...Ari. You're drunk...you don't know..." Mirion growled. "No, wait, you don't understand what you're saying."

"Of course I do." Ari shook her head. "I can't marry ya, Mirion. Sorry, but I can't. Nothin' to be done for that."

"You're lying. Come!" Mirion dragged her off to somewhere to find out if she was lying.

-----------------------------------------------

An hour later...Ari came out. She was becoming undrunk now, and...

"Well..." Ari sighed.

"Well, what??" Arika asked. "You engaged or not?"

"Nope!" Ari grinned.

The group cheered.

"I don't understand, though. Why?" Ashley ventured.

"..." The room got quiet, waiting for her answer.

"It's not important. Come on, I want to go home, and I want to see that secret passage." Ari gestured them forward.

They headed for Ari's room. She moved the dresser and opened the hidden door. She climbed down, and everyone followed her. Ari forgot something, though...it went straight through Youko's ex-lair.

----------------------------------------------------

She climbed down, and looked around. It was dark, of course. Her eyes adjusted quickly, and she was able to move through it. The longer she was there, the more she was able to see. She realized something. She turned.

"Let's go back." She insisted. "Now."

"Why? Come on, whatever's down here can't be too bad." Kurama chuckled.

"...If you say so..." Ari said, ominously. She kept walking. About twenty feet later, Kurama realized where they were.

"..." He looked left, then right. Then left again. He mulled his location in silence. "Are we...?"

"Yeah." Ari said, flatly. "I forgot."

"I did too." Kurama remarked.

"Where are we?" Chetara asked.

"My, uh...old den." Kurama remarked.

"Really??? Which room's yours?" Chetara asked, grabbing his arm.

"Well, that one's mine..." Ari volenteered, pointing to a random room.

"There's mine..." Kurama winced. It had ivy hanging over the entrance. Chetara dragged him off to look around inside, and Ari stared at her room. Hiei plowed into Ari's room and Ari had no choice but to chase after him.


	68. Chapter 68 Invasive Kitsune

Hiei immediately started digging around. He started with the drawers...not much of anything in there, (lol! get it??), then to her closet.

"This is your room?" Hiei asked.

"Yeah." Ari laughed. "It was. But uh...I didn't sleep in here too often..."

Hiei looked at her. "Where'd you sleep?"

"Not here." Ari looked at him, tentavely.

"Hm..." Hiei frowned, digging through another hideyhole. "Tramp." He muttered.

"Hey! Hiei, please leave. The ghosts in here are getting mad." Ari sighed.

Hiei pulled out an outfit, and held it up. Hiei got an amused little side smirk, which developed into a grin that showed his little fangs. "Hn."

Ari immeadiately blushed crimson. "T-that's not mine."

"I bet. Exotic dancer days?" She could hear the super smirk in his voice. He seemed pleased...and set it aside. Ari snatched it up.

"Hiei..." Ari whined.

"Wow." Hiei remarked of the next object, holding it up and examining it. Ari grabbed his arm.

"We're leaving!" She dragged him out.

"I wasn't finished looking..." Hiei growled.

"Yes, you were." She challenged.

"Fine. Where's Kurama's room?" Hiei looked around. The ivy opened, and Chetara walked out. She was peeved. Holding the ivy was none other than Youko.

"And that's the privately intimate tour of my bedroom," He smirked. "I do hope you'll come back soon..."

Chetara growled at him. "Go away."

"Hey, Youko." Ari greeted.

"Ari." He nodded. "What was with my reception the other day?"

Ari shook her head. "You know me. Always with the issues. It just sorta freaked me out when someone who's supposed to be dead comes back to life."

"You thought they could kill me that easily?" Youko asked.

"Ah..." Ari shrugged. "Plus, you were acting funny."

"I was trying to freak you out." Youko chuckled.

"Well, you won the grand prize." Ari sighed.

"This is Chetara, right?" Youko looked at her. "I remember her. The second princess. I saw her on the day that I told you about Kuronue... That's one of the days I remember clearly. That day and the day he died. Just about everything else faded away."

"Everything?"

"Just about." Youko clarified. "I'll never forget the first-"

Ari raised a hand. "Please. Don't."

Youko laughed. "Sure. You know what I'm talking about, though. I bet you've never forgotten yours."

Ari sighed. "Could we discuss this later?"

"Right. Anyway, I survived." Youko shrugged.

"So you did. What are you doing here?" Ari asked.

"Shuichi was giving a woman a tour of MY bedroom. What was I supposed to do?" Youko asked, wounded.

"Oh, right." Ari laughed. "Nice."

"I do wish we could have spent a little more time in there..." Youko looked at Chetara, and whined, just slightly.

Chetara growled at him. "Go away."

"She's dating Shuichi." Ari explained.

"Urgh..." Youko growled. "Shuichi knew I wanted her...!!!" He was half growling/half whining. He whined at Chetara again. She growled. Youko sighed. "Fine." He walked over to Ari, and glowered at Chetara.

"I hate you." He muttered to Ari.

"What'd I do?" Ari asked.

"You know. Can't you do something??? I WANT HER. Always have...do something!" Youko complained.

"I can't, she's dating Shuichi!" Ari retorted. Youko frowned.

"Hm..." He went back into his room. Kurama emerged. Ari frowned. He gave up? She saw his eyes glint faintly of yellow...no, he didn't.

"That Youko guy is a sick jerk." Chetara informed Youko/Kurama. (I'm calling Youko disguised as Kurama Y/K)

Y/K blinked. Innocent? No. A good actor? Yes. "Too much time amongst the ranks of his bandits?" Y/K suggested, tentively.

He was testing the waters of his disguise, seeing if it'd hold water. Ari glared at him.

"That has to be it. Ari, Youko's bandits were perverted, right?" Chetara asked, plucking a pretty red flower off of the ivy...Y/K's doing.

"Oh, yeah..." Ari bit her lip, thinking. "Extremely. But trust me, his thieves had nothing to do with his...handicap. They may have helped him growing up, but..."

Y/K glared, with venom. "Handicap?"

"Yeah, he was a pervert 24/7, unless he was on a thieving mission..." Ari grinned. Heh. "So all around, he was..."

"He never came across as that bad to me..." Y/K studied the ground, irritated.

"Other than putting an idea or two into your head." Ari suggested. "Let's go, then."

They headed out, Chetara still going on about her new hatred for the famous kitsune bandit. Y/K was getting more and more edgy and nervous by the second. She REALLY hated him!

After a smooth comment by Y/K on something Chetara had said, Ari tripped.

"Sorry, my bad." Ari said, standing. She brushed the dirt off her clothes. She stopped in front of a room. "..."

"Ari...It's a room...There isn't any evil in it, regardless of what you think..." Y/K suggested.

"..." Ari frowned. She entered. "That's what you think." She muttered under her breath. Kuronue's quarters...She circled the enclosed room, to find a candle sitting there, all lonesome. Ari poked her head out.

"Light." Ari held the candle out for someone to light. Chetara glared at her, but lit it. Ari went back in. The light of the candle bounced off the enclosed walls of the dirt room, making Ari feel almost trapped. There was the exit behind her, she knew, but that didn't make her feel any better. There was an enormous pile of leaves and things, for Kuronue's assorted company, and a bar across the ceiling, for his nights alone. Ari smiled at it.

She remembered the time she scared him out of his wits by attacking him when he was asleep on that bar...She looked around again. She bit her lip, as she remembered the feelings of betrayal, deception, heartache, humor, confusion, delight, happiness, pleasure, and sorrow. All these feelings were ones she'd experienced in this room. The first three were by far the strongest on her last visit to this room.

By the time she had looked this far, she saw the group crowded around the entrance, peering in.

"Youko!...uh, Kurama." Ari stuttered. "Privacy! Please! Help."

Y/K glared at her a second, before herding everyone out and sealing off the entrance. "Sorry." He shrugged.

"Hey!" Hiei and Chetara complained.

Ari went through the desk. Not much important. There was a sealed letter. Sealed. Using wax. That was weird. Addressed to...her? Kuronue's letter! Ari blinked. "This was the letter he mentioned...?"

She clapped her hand over her mouth. They didn't seem to hear her over their complaints. Good. Ari went through everything in the room. Then...After a moment of silent contemplation, she started digging at the soft ground exactly two paces from the makeshift bed she'd spent so much time in during her previous youth...The ground wasn't so soft anymore, but she still dug at it. She pulled up the hidden box. Kuronue's most hidden secret. Youko hadn't even heard about this. Ari didn't either, but she'd seen Kuronue dig it up, when she was supposed to be asleep. Sealed. Tightly. She groaned, but knew she could pick it when she wasn't so pressed for time. She picked it up and carried it to the entrance. She covered the hole with leaves and then dirt.

"Kurama? I'm ready to go..." She looked around. This place smelled of Kuronue to the highest degree, even after 16 years...

The ivy parted. Y/K blinked. "Taking some stuff with you?"

"Yeah." Ari nodded.

"Never seen THAT box..." Y/K looked speculative...

"Let's get going, before they chase us through the passage." Ari headed off, and everyone ran after her.


	69. Chapter 69 Chest and the Letter

Ari sat on her bed in her room. Since she'd dominated it, it no longer looked like the product of a colorblind decorator. She was very proud of the changes she'd made. She was currently staring at the box she'd taken from Kuronue's hutch...She desperately wanted to open it, and yet, she was terrified of the very same thing. She grabbed a lockpick, and, closed her eyes.

She placed her ear on it and listened nervously. "Five tumblers. The ultimate test." She murmured, secretly freaking out. She chickened out. "Letter first."

She started opening Kuronue's letter. There was a knock on her door. "...? Hold on..." Ari stashed the letter safely under her pillow, where it wouldn't be seen, and the box out of sight, next to her bed. "Come in."

It was Chetara. She came in and looked around. "Hey, Ari. Yusuke, and Kuwabara are having some gaming thing and said that if you want to, you can come."

Ari smiled, happily. It was merely the beginning. "I might, maybe in a little bit."

Chetara knew better than to ask about Ari's box. She decided to leave her to whatever she'd been doing. "If you want to, come on down. Kurama and I are going over floriography, too, so that's something you can join us for. It's really fun!" Chetara left, and shut the door. Ari smiled. Finally, privacy! She pulled the letter back out. A quarter of the way there, there was another knock. Only this time it was Arika and Ashley.

"Ari! Help!" Ashley cried, and they filed in. Ari sighed, was she ever going to get through this?

"With what?" Ari asked. The letter was already rehidden.

"We don't know how to do this." Arika blinked, holding out to Ari.

Ari set them straight.

"Thanks, Ari!" They grinned, excitedly. "We're having an act-off! Want to join us?"

"Nah, but thanks." Ari smiled at them, and laughed. "Maybe later."

"Kay, that's cool. See ya later." Ashley grinned, bouncing a little. They ran off. Ari sighed, with a forced smile. Goofy friends.

She started opening the letter again.

"Ari!" Hiei yelled through the door. Ari hid the letter, as Hiei came bursting in.

"What!" Ari jumped.

"Training." He watched her. "We need to perfect our double team..."

Ari sighed. "Yeah, um...can we do this later?"

Hiei gave her a puzzled look. "..."

"Please?" Ari added.

"Hn." He left.

Ari stared at the letter she had in her hand again. She'd lost her nerve. She had alot of friends now...what did she need Kuronue for? Ari smiled. That's it. I don't need him, or his letter. She stood up. She tucked it under a loose floorboard, and stared at the chest. She put her ear to it again, and took a deep breath.

...One soft, faint click as she got the first tumbler...Two clicks as the second one caught...

"ARI!!!!" Someone yelled. Ari jumped. Click, click. They dropped back again.

"URGH!!!" She yelled, in anguish. "WHAT DO YOU WANT!?!?!?!"

There was a silence. "...Never mind." It was Hiei.

"Look, I need to be left alone for awhile. Solid alone. Thanks for caring, but everyone needs to go away!" She shrieked. "I can't do this!"

Hiei came in. Ari was in tears. She was totally stressed, and crazy. He took her in his arms, tentatively. She was crying. "This is hard, and everyone's bothering me and I can't be bothered right now, and they won't stop, and I just messed it up, and now I have to start over, and I couldn't even read the letter he wrote, and I can't open this stupid chest either because people keep bothering me!" Ari cried. Hiei tilted his head.

"..." Hiei eyed her a minute. "You'll get it. Calm down."

Ari took a deep breath. "Ok, I can do this. Thank you."

Hiei sighed. "Not worth mentioning." He stood up, and left. Ari turned back to the chest. She placed her ear back on it.

...One click. Tumbler 1 caught. Click. Tumbler 2...easy. Ari fumbled around a minute. Tumbler 3 was stubborn...click. Click. On the last one...She slowly and carefully moved her pick about.

"Please..." Ari winced.

"Hey, Ari."

Ari jumped. Click! It unlocked.

It was Icicle. "Can I come in?"

"Uk..." Ari stared at the chest. "Can you come back...? Later. Like. Um...hour?"

"...?" Icicle was clearly puzzled. "Alright." She left.

Ari opened the lid of the chest. There was a layer of cotton on the top, to keep safe what it contained. Ari removed it. Upon seeing the contents of the chest, Ari gasped. Wow.


	70. Chapter 70 Final Battle 1

Okay, pps and peepettes. We're down to the final 3 chapters. I know, wow, it's almost over? Took WAY too long for me to post, if you ask me. I had this done months ago, but could NEVER remember to post. Now, I asked someone to remind me to post on Saturday, but just in case, if any of you remember, PM me and remind me to post up. I want these final three chapters to transition as painlessly as possible.

--Ari

* * *

There was a ton of stuff in the chest. Pictures...trophies. Yeah. Kuronue trophies. Ari sighed. "Idiot." She dug past those, and examined the pictures. Her and Kuronue. She had a young and innocent look about her, and a very happy look in her eyes.

"Our group." Ari smiled. "Youko, Kuronue, me, the whole group of us. Of course, that was bandit me..." She laughed, grinning cheerfully. She set it aside. The next picture was her and Kuronue.

Ari felt such extreme anger and sadness at seeing the picture. Kuronue was holding her in his lap. She looked so foolishly innocent...

"As if she has no idea what's in store for her." Ari sighed, staring at herself. She set this aside, and continued digging. "Hello, what's this...?" She pulled out an object from the bottom of the chest. "Wicked." She looked it over. It was like a gun. Kind of. It had no place to store bullets, or anything like that. She held it up. "Huh, cute..." She expirimentally pulled the trigger...

There was an earthshaking KABOOM as the little gun shot off an enormous black shadow bullet. The mansion rocked.

Everyone ran to Ari's room.

"Ari!" The group burst in. She sat there, clearly shocked. She was staring at the huge hole in the wall, then at her little gun. She gave a little shudder, like a twitch and then...

She started cracking up like a psychopath. She was rolling around and gasping. Tears were rolling down her face. "AHH!!" She cried, though laughter. "That... scared... me!"

She couldn't stop laughing. Everyone stared at her, like she was crazy.

"That little thing did that?" Yusuke frowned.

"Wanna see it work?" Ari pointed it at him.

"Woah!" Yusuke jumped back. Ari flipped it around in her hand.

"Here." She cracked up.

"So...what's in it?" Chetara asked.

"Typical Kuronue stuff?" Kurama asked. Yes, Kurama. Youko'd given up.

"Looks like dangerous weaponry..." Hiei muttered.

"Well, there's Kuronue 'trophies'..." Ari frowned. Kurama cracked up. "There's pictures..."

"Pictures?" If Kurama had his fox ears, they would've perked up.

Ari held the group one out. Kurama took it. "Wow, he kept this?" Kurama blinked. "I want this."

"Take it." Ari flipped her hand at him. "I have dozens of others. Including a bunch that just make me angry."

"Not you?"

"No, me. The look on my face." Ari growled. "This one." She tossed the other one she'd scoffed at.

"It's a good picture." Kurama smiled at her.

"But look at me. I'm..." Ari stopped. "There's other stuff in here, too. Pictures. And this thing. It's weird."

Ari pulled out some glittery ball. Kurama immeadiately cleared out the space in front of her, also dropping the pictures. Ari blinked at him.

"I know what that thing is." Kurama stared at it. He gently took it from her. "It needs to be gotten rid of."

Ari took it back roughly. "No. What's it do?"

"It's dangerous," Kurama took it back, carefully. Ari snatched it back, causing Kurama to wince.

She shook it vigorously. Kurama backed WAY off, and pulled Chetara back with him. "Ari!"

"Fine!" She dropped it in the container. She snapped the lid shut. Click. Locked. "Pick it open if you want it." She put it on the floor. "And my gun?"

Yusuke handed it over, meekly. Ari tucked it off. "Ok, now..." Ari smiled at them. "I'm going to practice with this thing..."

She stopped, and frowned. "..." The hair on her neck stood up. "...It's happening."

"What is?" Chetara yawned.

"It is." Ari seemed genuinely awed. She slunk over to the window, and peered out. "...It feels almost...it's weird. Does anyone else feel that??"

She was in a shrill panic, screeching and looking back and forth at them.

"...Ari! Calm down, there's nothing there." Hiei assured her.

Ari wimpered, and then took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm tired. Night."

Everyone filed out. It was 8:00pm. They shrugged it off.

* * *

The next morning, Koenma had a new assignment for the group. "We have a new problem." Koenma informed them.

"Again?" Yusuke growled, over his breakfast.

"Look, I feed you, and get you everything you want and need. The least you can do is complete this mission!" Koenma roared.

"Fine, fine. What is it?" Kuwabara sighed.

"All of you need to go to this place. It's called the Gainsborough Ruins." Koenma nodded. (We love you, Aeris) "There's some people threatening the safety of our world."

"Aren't they always?" Chetara asked. Ari yawned. Then paused.

"Gainsborough Ruins?" Ari asked, tentatively.

"Are you a parrot?" Koenma shouted. "Yes, the Gainsborough Ruins!"

"Alrighty..." Ari shuddered. Everyone frowned at her. "I'm going to be right back."

She left the room. She came back with a sword, the gun thingy, and the glitter ball tied to her waist.

"I'm coming prepared." Ari blinked, having a seat.

"Ari!" Kurama admonished.

"They're weak. C's, at the most. There's one A, but he's not much to worry about, he's a spellcaster. Just get up on him, and ride him hard! Now go!" Koenma pointed at the door.

"..." Ari blinked at him. "Where did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Koenma looked abashed.

"'Get up on him, and ride him hard'." Ari quoted. "Where did that come from? You know what that sounds like?"

Chetara started snickering.

"Just go!" Koenma growled, pointing at the door. They filed out, after grabbing their stuff.

"To...Ganisburg ruins, or whatever." Yusuke rolled his eyes.

Ari sighed. "..." ("Has it begun?")

* * *

The group stood outside the ruins.

"Ok, this might be our last chance to say something clever and witty, y'all." Ari looked around. "So we should all say something."

"Like what?" The group looked puzzled.

"Um...last wishes!" Ari offered. "If we were to die."

"..." They exchanged glances.

"If I were to die..." Ari started. "I would just be happy that I got to spend time with you guys."

"Ari? What's with all the sentimental garbage?" Yusuke frowned. "Let's go inside."

They did, Ari watched them head inside. "Thank you, guys..." She whispered. "It's the final battle...for me."

She headed inside behind them.


	71. Chapter 71 Final Battle 2

A/N: Okay, I lied. There isn't three chapters left. There's only 72 chapters. And a fun little mini chapter thing after it where I take certain scenes, and goof them up. If there's a scene you want me to play with, just tell me what chapter it's in, and a description, and I'll mess it up. Anyway, no hate mail because of Ari's lying. Please, lol. But this is it. One left...

Ari

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They looked about them. This place was huge! They ran into the main room, and saw...Three men. Ari gasped.

"Princess!" Mirion grinned at her.

"You!" Everyone growled. Nenin waved at Icicle, who, discreetly, waved back.

Hiei noticed someone else. "Is that...?" He tapped Ari. "Kenji?"

Ari looked, and gasped again. Sure enough...although he looked much more evil now. "It is!"

"It's amazing. You three pathetic idiots came charging in here, and barged into my trap." Kenji grinned.

"YOUR trap?" It was a group exclaimation. The doors slammed down behind them.

"Right. Mine." Kenji sneered. "Get them."

"Wait!" Yusuke yelled, dodging a blow. "You're the bad guy! You're supposed to give some long winded speech about why you're doing this!"

"In good time. Beat me first." Kenji waved at his henchmen. "Destroy them."

The two henchmen gathered around the group.

"Sorry, Ariana." Mirion grinned. Nenin gave Icicle a weak smile, like I'm sorry.

"Don't be. I've seen the outcome of this battle." Ari grinned. "But that doesn't mean we're going to get sloppy on you."

Ari shimmered, and all the shadows rose up to fight. "Are you ready?" She yelled at the shadows. They let out an unhuman noise, one that struck fear in Mirion. As they charged, Ari pulled out her little gun. "Goodbye..."

BOOM! Mirion literally exploded into pieces.

"Whose side are you on?" She asked Nenin.

"..." Nenin looked at her, then at Kenji, then at Icicle. "Yours!... Don't shoot!"

"Great. We have a conversion." Ari grinned. The only one left was Kenji.

"...damn." Kenji muttered. "You blew Mirion up...and left Nenin on your side. ...There's only one thing left to do."

He charged Ari, taking her totally off guard.

"Huh?" She managed to say, before...She gasped. Chest to chest, she felt the bite of cold steel, just inches from the heart. She gasped again. She turned her head to the group, who looked paralized with shock. "Hiei." Ari gasped, clearly. "Help me..."

Ari gasped again, and fell...down, down, down. She bounced on the floor. There was a ripple of energy, as she passed on. Her energy collapsed, as she passed through the worlds, and on her way to Koenma...

Hiei dashed to her and cradled her lifeless form. "...A-..." He fell silent.

"Heh. The end of worthless." Kenji grinned. "And now...the piece de resistance..."

He did some complicated hand gesture. "Rise, my lifeless puppet!"

Ari's eyes expanded immensely. Her golden irises were gone, the pupil expanded to fill the whole eye. She stood up and stood by Kenji, after shoving Hiei away.

"You're...a necromancer?" Kurama gasped. The whole group looked sick. Ari's eyes...

"Heh. Yes." Kenji sneered. "Ari's always been a problem for me. Always. Finally, after my attempt to placate her using the typical male-female relationship failed, I decided to flat out destroy her." He placed his hand on Ari's shoulder. "And now, I have her."

"Always? What relationship are you to her?" Chetara asked, dazed.

"My name long ago was Reran." He sneered. "Know me now?"

Kurama intook a large breath.

"I was a very famous necromancer, and powerful thief and bandit. I was recruited to Youko's pathetic team. Shortly after that, Ari came. She ruined everything. All of my ambitions. All of my dreams of becoming truly great."

"How did she do that?" Kurama asked.

"When she came, she filled my head with all sorts of pathetic and worthless ideas. Ideas that had nothing to do with my plans of dominence. In my rash actions, I rushed out to defeat Youko and Kuronue before I was ready, I was so blinded by her." Reran snarled. "She ruined it all. And now...I ruined her."

They exchanged a 9-way glance, which was very hard.

"You killed her because you fell in love with her?" Chetara suddenly yelled. He seethed.

"I knew you fools wouldn't understand." Reran snarled.

----------------------------------------------------

Koenma stared, almost sadly, at the white figure seated calmly in front of him. "Here you are, right on time."

Ari stared back at him. "Am I really dead?" She studied her arms and legs.

"Exactly as recorded by the book." Koenma smiled wearily at her.

"But I do have a window of opportunity. A chance to be rescued, right?" Ari stared at him.

"Yes... IF they do everything just the way they're supposed to." Koenma verified. He held up a remote and a movie showed. Ari was next to Reran, her eyes huge, black, and wickedly enormous. Reran was spouting off about something...

_"My name long ago was Reran." He sneered. "Know me now?"_

_Kurama intook a large breath. _

_"I was a very famous necromancer, and powerful thief and bandit. I was recruited to Youko's pathetic team. Shortly after that, Ari came. She ruined everything. All of my ambitions. All of my dreams of becoming truly great." _

_"How did she do that?" Kurama asked._

_"When she came, she filled my head with all sorts of pathetic and worthless ideas. Ideas that had nothing to do with my plans of dominence. In my rash actions, I rushed out to defeat Youko and Kuronue before I was ready, I was so blinded by her." Reran snarled. "She ruined it all. And now...I ruined her." _

_They exchanged a 9-way glance, which was very hard. _

_"You killed her because you fell in love with her?" Chetara suddenly yelled. He seethed. _

_"I knew you fools wouldn't understand." Reran snarled. _

Ari had gasped. "Reran..." She whispered. She turned from the screen.

(You were my friend. How could you. We were friends, and got along so well. I didn't recognize you in your new form. Why did you kill me? How. Could. You. You ruined so much. Hurt me so bad...Have you forgotten everything? Do you remember when I first came to Youko's team? I was so worried, and edgy. You laughed when you saw me, and said, "Look at the edgy kitten." When I jumped you said, "Calm down, there, Bullet." And I did, because something about you stated that it would be okay. I grew to like you and trust you... Why, Reran? Why.)

"You obviously don't know what it feels like to have your dreams crushed under the heel of a moron." Reran growled at them. "And scattered to the winds by someone who possesses every thought you have, every dream you sleep, every second of yours. They stopped becoming mine, and they were hers. I was hers. Entirely. And then, she wasn't."

Ari's head shot up. "Was that it??" She gasped. "I have to go back! Koenma! Send me back!" She screamed at Koenma.

"I can't, Ari!" Koenma yelled. "And you know that!"

"...she wasn't..." Reran muttered, eyes closed. Throwing his head up, he yelled, "She chose Kuronue. All for naught, she chose him over me. In the end, she got EXACTLY what she deserved and wanted! The lying, cheating, horny, SOB that she wanted! She deserved everything she got, even when she was called away, and came back to see Kuronue cheating on her!"

Ari choked. Her body twitched, and a tear hit the ground, but no one noticed.

"NO one deserves that!" Kurama objected. "And Kuronue wasn't as bad as ..."

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!!!" Reran screamed. The room seemed to ripple and bend, as if it's structure was being pushed and pulled on. "I will destroy you now..." His eyes glowed with an un-natural color.


	72. Chapter 72 Conclusion, Kuronue's letter

A/N: Just gonna warn you now... there's a part in here that is 110 corny. It's awful, but I figured there was SOMEONE somewhere curious about Kuronue's letter. If you weren't, please, by all means, skip over that part.

---------------------------------

Ari's body charged them. Kuwabara first. He, taken totally be surprise, narrowly dodged her attack. He made his spirit sword and tried to defend himself...he couldn't attack her. He just couldn't. He finally went down, out but not dead. Ari's body stared down at the prone form of Kuwabara, and then, without killing him as she was supposed to, turned on Yusuke.

"WHAT?" Reran snarled. "She was supposed to kill him!"

"Even without her soul, you can't control Ari." Hiei sneered.

Chetara sighed. "Even her body is disobediant."

Suddenly, she was in the midst of them, cutting them down. Ari slammed Chetara in the face with her elbow, and kicked Hiei in the stomach. It became a freeforall battle where they tried to knock Ari out. It wasn't happening. She danced and weaved, like a dancer on the moon. Laws of gravity, physics, and motion no longer applied to her. If she hadn't been trying to kill them, it would have been beautiful. Ashley went down, followed by Arika. Icicle cut Ari's arm wide open, which didn't faze her.  
"Don't hurt her!" Hiei snarled, whirling on Icicle, who jumped.

"What?"

Nenin was just doing his best to dodge Ari's attacks. "Don't YELL at her!" He snarled at Hiei. "I still hate your rotten guts and won't deny it!"

Ari kicked Nenin in the face, then knocked Icicle's feet from under her. She took a step back, and did a backwards midair flip, landing on her feet. She crouched there. There was four.

"Shouldn't we be going after Reran...?" Chetara asked, not moving her lips. Hiei nodded. Kurama and Yusuke glanced at Reran.

"You two, hold her off. We'll get '-------' over there..." Yusuke muttered. "Good luck."

Yusuke and Kurama charged Reran, and Chetara and Hiei charged Ari.

Reran was taken totally by surprise, but he evaded their attacks, and kept up the energy on Ari.

Ari bobbed and weaved, danced and rolled, flipped, and whirled, like some beautiful exotic dance. The dance of her death...or maybe it was the best dance of her life. They couldn't touch her. The stuff on her belt fell off. The glittery ball fell off her belt, and went plink, plink, across the ground. Her last instinct was survival, and thanks to Reran, he'd made her friends into enemies.

"Look at me move..." Ari remarked, feeling sick about the whole thing. Oh, so sick...

Kurama pulled out his rosewhip, and cracking it through the air, connected with Reran. Flesh was sliced open, crimson life gushed from his shoulder. Ari suddenly broke from Hiei and Chetara, and dashed in front of Reran.

"OOFF!" Yusuke groaned, as she kicked her foot out. Kurama flicked his whip, Ari was under it in a flash, and grabbed his handle. With a flick, it went flying from his hands.

"YES! ARi! Good girl, do my bidding! KILL THEM!" Reran cried, joyously.

She stood over Kurama and Yusuke. Staring down at them, she didn't move.

"KILL!" He screeched. Ari wouldn't move. He suddenly got furious. He snatched Kurama's whip, and sliced her back. Ari's eyes glowed dark red. She whirled on him. Self-preservation...Reran realized what he'd done. Too late.

Ari let out a sick sounding hiss before she started all but tearing him to pieces. So fast. So fast. She was nothing but a blur as she ripped and shredded, smashed his form into the ground, and killed him.

She immeadiately dropped to the ground, and stopped moving.

Ari's soul sobbed for what she'd seen, what she'd done. What she'd had to watch herself do...For Reran, for everything. Everyone stood slowly. They gathered around Ari, some beginning to cry. Some stood strong, in denial. Even after all that, they just couldn't...

Kurama spotted the ball that Kuronue had given Ari, laying many feet away in the dust. Kurama remembered what it did, but had it been used? He walked away from Ari and picked it up.

_'As a gift to you, my follower Kuronue...' _Kurama remembered the demon god saying, _'I give you the gift of one life. Carry it always, but remember, sometimes, things that we feel must be...can destroy us.' _

(I don't remember Kuronue using this... He would want me to. I know he would...) Kurama carried it over to Ari. Holding it over her, he broke it in his hands. It shattered over Ari. And dissolved into her.

"What the hell are you doing??" Hiei snarled with venom. "Kurama?"

Kurama smiled, down at the body.

Ari's soul looked down at itself. It was shimmering. "They did it. Was I destined to be back?"

"You're making your own destiny now..." Koenma remarked, as Ari was sucked through the screen and into her own body.

There was a backwards ripple, and skin mended itself, began anew. The body quivered, as it created everything newly. Skin was freshly built in seconds, her wounds mended. Blood replaced. Her eyes twitched, her breathing started up.

Ari truly began anew. Opening her eyes, she started up at her friends but mostly Kurama who was leaning over her. "Hi." Was all she said, then, "OOF!" As they all jumped on top of her. Ari smiled. Her friends...

----------------------------------------------------

Kuronue's letter:

Dear Ari,

I'm sorry. I know full well that whatever I say here is meaningless. First off, no matter how many times I say I'm sorry, it will never mean anything to you. I'm sorry. I know that what I've done was so stupid and horrible, that you'll never look at me again. Never love me again. I don't know why I did what I did, maybe it was fear and panic that drove me to this end. Maybe my god turned on me.

You'll never read this, but I feel like if I write it, the pain inside might ebb a bit. If I hurt this bad, I can't imagine what I've done to you. Maybe one day, you'll return to the hideout, and Youko will show you this stuff. And you'll be able to laugh about it.

I don't want to have any of it anymore. Looking at all the pictures hurts. My trophies from various women? That's like being stabbed. I wish I could give you my Spirit Gun. I don't have any use for it anymore. Not since you started using it. And forget the Ball of Life. I don't need it.

I just hope that one day you can forgive me, Ari. I know that what I've done hurt you alot more than it hurt me, and it's like dying a slow death for me...

I know you'll find someone better, and more worthy of you. Maybe someone who can make you smile, and laugh again. Someone who won't betray your trust, like I have.

I'm sorry. Good luck in your next life. Maybe we'll meet again.

Kuronue

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Ari was busily filling a hole she'd dug with dirt again. In the hole was some of the objects she'd gotten from Kuronue. His trophies, the Spirit Gun. The pictures she would keep. For future generations, she decided.

"What are you doing?" Hiei asked, coming up behind her, and putting his arms around her.

Ari giggled. Springtime... "Burying this stuff. Don't want the kids to find it, after all."

"Kids?? Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?" Hiei blinked. "We're not even mated yet!"

"No...but it is Spring..." Ari fluttered her lashes at Hiei, who gaped.  
"Arh-" Hiei said, intelligently.

Giggling at him, Ari gently pushed him away. "Go on back to the mansion. I'll be back soon. I'll meet you in your room..."

Hiei took off, giving her a backwards glance. As he did so, he tripped over a rock and went sprawling.

Ari giggled at him. She went back to filling her hole. Shortly after, Chetara came running up. She skidded to a stop in front of Ari's hole.

Kurama followed suite.

"Hey, Ari! Whatcha doin?" Chetara asked.

Ari glanced at them. "Burying some of my old memories and annoyances."

"Oh, great idea." Kurama nodded. "Here, bury this too, will you?" He dropped something in the hole. Teasingly, he took a step towards Chetara, who took off. He chased after her. Curiously, Ari looked at what Kurama'd dropped.

"Youko Kurama!" Ari cried, taken by surprise. He must've known I was doing this!

Kurama gave her a mini-wave over his shoulder, and continued running after Chetara. Ari, with a sigh, buried the racy object of Kurama's past life.

"I can't believe you still have that, you nasty fox..." Ari muttered, burying it. Finally she was done, and stuck a piece of metal on top of the dirt. "Wish I could shape metal..."

"I can! What do you need done?" Nenin asked, having came up with Icicle.

"You're so skilled..." Icicle grinned at him. He took her hand, with a grin.

"Um, turn this into a key." Ari pointed at the metal. He did. It was pretty to watch the metal moving and breathing into a new shape. "Now, write this on it..."

Nenin wrote it as it was dictated to him. "There. Am I done?"

"Done." Ari nodded.

"Let's go then...wait." Nenin remembered something. He took the item that Reran had given him as a symbol that he was his henchman and buried it. "There! Come on, Icicle." They walked off, waving at Ari.

Ari grinned at it, once they'd left. A million memories floated through her head. She left them there in a pile, at the statue of the key.

Walking away, she remembered Hiei was waiting for her. Grinning, she broke into a run.

'To honor memories long past, and to look towards the future' Said the second groove of the key.

Curving along the base of the key, it said, 'You cannot walk on a straight path while looking behind you.'


	73. Screwups! Oh, boy, what fun!

**Chapter 1**

"This is terrible!" Koenma yelled, slamming his fists down on the table. "The Reikai Vault has been broken into!"

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"This is terrible!" -Koenma- "My pizza's gotten cold!"

"CUT! CUT!" -Director

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"This is terrible!" -Koenma- "I need a sandwich!"

"CUT!!!! DO IT RIGHT!!!" -Director

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Next scene...

"Don't mess with me." The old man warned.

"Great. Should've brought Genkai along, too. You and the old hag would get along great." Yusuke said, with great scorn.

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"Don't mess with me!" -The old man

"Great. Should've brought Genkai. You and the old hag would get along great!" -Yusuke

"Me and a bag would go on a date?" -The old man

"Cut! NO! Do it like the script! Do it again! CUT!" -Director

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"Don't mess with me!" -The old man

"Great. Should've brought Genkai! You and that bag could dag on a flait..." -Yusuke- "URGH!!!"

"What?" -Old man

---------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 2**

"I'm bored again." Ari whined at Chetara, sounding pathetic.

"Play with your new toy that you had to have." Chetara said, rolling her eyes. She shifted the weight of the bag she carried to her other hand.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that." Ari cheered. Digging her new squeaky mouse out of the bag, she started to chew on it viciously. The passerby looked at her strangely.

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"I'm bored again." -Ari

"Play with your new toy you NEEDED..." -Chetara

"Oh! I forgot about that. Where did I put that new vibrator...?" -Ari

"CUT!!!! CUT! CUT!" -Director

"B...O...B..." -Ari- "Where are you??"

"CUT!!" -Director- "Too much info, Ari! It's a squeaky mouse!"

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Chapter 3

"Hey, what's the story behind your friend's first conviction?" Yusuke asked. "The computer wasn't being very discriptive."

"Oh." Chetara grinned. "Really funny story there. Ari was dating this tom by the name of Joey. Appearently, he gave her a bag of catnip and she overdosed on it. She bounced around and destroyed an entire ningen apartment complex, nearly killed 12 dogs, and severely injured the tom that gave her the catnip."

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"Funny story. Ari was with this tom, and decided Ari was his chance to 'get some', and he drugged her up on catnip, and she was so..." Chetara fell silent. "We need to change the script. Seriously. I can't say this!"

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"And he gave her a bag of catnip. She was so excited that she destroyed-" Chetara sighed. "Destroyed a ningen building, severely hurt... I can't do this!" She stormed off.

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"Ari dated this tom awhile back, and he drugged her up on catnip, because..." Chetara started to say.

"Sex?" Hiei raised an eyebrow. The group all fell on the floor laughing.


	74. Not a chapter But a forum for a sequal

Um, hi. I know I probably got your hopes up. "Oh! A new chapter! OMFGYAY." But this isn't a chapter. Sorry. I am... however... considering writing a sequal. I need new characters, and subplots, and just wanting general things for the next MKT... If you want to join in helping me with the characters, subplots, or just feel like telling me what you'd want in a sequal, I started a forum for it. Cleverly titled, "Maikai Thieves"... It's in my forums...thingy. If you still care a drop about my silly story I wasted much of my life on, please feel free to stop by my forum and post away on stuff.


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